


At Deaths Door, the Demon Awaits

by hikariisjaejj



Category: EXO (Band), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Claustrophobia, EXO Big Bang Round 1, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, MDZS AU, OT12 (EXO), Romance, Slow Burn, Xianxia, XiuChen - Freeform, danmei - Freeform, mxtx au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:34:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 144,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25158607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikariisjaejj/pseuds/hikariisjaejj
Summary: Kim Minseok is dead!The great leader of the Hwarang, Flower Knights of Mugunghwa Valley Sect, has died. Yet, as his soul roams the spirit realm, he finds himself torn between the living world and the afterlife. He will find that what keeps him attached to the living world comes in a form, not quite what he expected. From someone he once thought his arch nemesis.written for the EXO Big Bang EventA MDZS!au (with inspiration from SVSSS too!) but with XiuChen and my own spin on an ancient Korean setting rather than the Chinese influence. The Lanling Jin Sect will make an appearance, however, none of the original MDZS characters will be featured. I've basically written my own small, xianxia/danmei fic featuring exo.Featuring side fanxing and hinted other relationships and bromance
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 19
Kudos: 35
Collections: EXO Big Bang Writing Event





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to XiuChen4Ever (XiuAnna) must be made. Without her amazing attention to detail and vast knowledge of the English language, this fic would not be where it is today. I probably wouldn't even have a fic to post without all the support and love she has shown. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please, everyone shower her fics with much love as well. 
> 
> Second, thank you Mods for putting up with my inconsistent deadlines and for allowing me to post so late in the fest. And thank you for your continuous support and love to everyone participating in the Big Bang!
> 
> This fic will contain depictions of violence, gore, ptsd, claustrophobia and torture. They are not terribly detailed but it may not be suitable to some audiences.

“im… seo… ”

That voice..

“Kim Min..!”

I know that voice..

“Kim Minseok!”  
For a moment, Minseok opened his eyes. It was blurry, but he saw a faint vision through all the black clouding his sight. It was a face he never really enjoyed seeing, but in that particular moment… It wasn’t unwelcome. He could see the faint traces of this face bearing an expression he had never seen before: some sort of pure terror.

“Jong.. dae.” Minseok’s voice faltered as his vision failed again. He went limp, feeling his soul lift from his body and drift towards somewhere far away.

“No!” 

Minseok heard the scream as he lost consciousness.

“Again! Start the formation again!”

This was a new voice and he only heard it faintly. It was getting harder and harder to hear the further his soul floated away from his body.

This is what it felt like to die.

Not understanding what was happening, but following along mindlessly.

To the great beyond, for one’s soul to forever roam.


	2. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: light violence

Was death meant to be painful? Was it supposed to feel like a pain that no mortal body could ever endure? The pain one feels with their soul differs from the physical pain of a cut on one’s finger, or a broken bone. This pain is something new that no human or living breathing creature could ever expect. It is a cosmic, unfathomable pain that cannot be described in any way, shape, or form. And right now Kim Minseok was experiencing pain in his soul that made him feel as if something was pulling him in two, mind and body, in the most grueling and excruciating way possible.

He could not count how long he had been experiencing it. His thoughts could not find a way to any other topic unless it was focused around the agony he was feeling. But he would gladly take his body being ripped limb from limb than having to endure another second of whatever was currently happening.

Then it stopped. There was no more pain. There was no residual hum of pain lingering. Almost like it hadn’t happened. It was gone.

Minseok opened his eyes and a bright white light obliterated his vision. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to squint and raise a hand to his brow.

When his eyes adjusted, the land before him was almost as white as snow. No sun could be seen, merely a heavy layer of pale clouds. In the sky were sights even more peculiar: there were mountains and floating islands of rock, waterfalls and trees. A haze of a rainbow glimmered in sections—every time Minseok’s eye would travel to it, it would disappear only to show up in the corner of his eye again. It was either hiding from him or a trick of the magical light playing there.

White and black birds with long ribbon-like tails flew among the floating islands, drifting along for their afternoon naps. Small creatures that he had never seen before crawled on the ground, scrounging for food or other smaller creatures to eat. They looked mostly like rodents, small like a field mouse and nothing bigger than a fox.

There was a drop-off in the ashen ground just in front of him, so he took a step forward, wondering if his celestial body would be able to firmly plant itself on the ground. After all, he did just die.

There was nothing out of the ordinary—it felt just like his normal body. As he walked, a weight on his chest and shoulder shifted. He turned and found his bow, Bom, and his quiver secured.

“Bom..” he said breathlessly—if it could be called that, as he did not breathe anymore.

His hand found its way to his hip, where his sword, Gwangseon, usually rested. To his surprise, it was there. He pulled it from its scabbard and gave it a once-over, then he made a sign with his fingers and watched as his sword glowed with a bright pink light. It rose from his fingers and swished around in the directions he willed.

“They still have spiritual powers… Does that mean..” he mumbled as his sword sheathed itself.

Did that mean his spiritual powers, along with his weapons, flowed over from the mortal world? Did his weapons in their physical form still work? This was an odd conjecture, and he had never read of anything like this in the scrolls of his sect.

Minseok continued toward the edge, careful with each step he took because he was unsure of how stable the ground was.

When he reached the end, he looked over and found that he could not see the bottom. There was nothing but cloud and mist from waterfalls blocking his vision. A few islands floated below, but that was about it. There was probably no end here; after all, the dead were countless and continuously growing.

“You’re different…” A voice suddenly came from behind Minseok.

He spun around and readied his hand on his sword.

“Who are you?” Minseok asked when the person did not speak any further.

The stranger instead tilted his head, furrowing his brows and looking Minseok up and down.

“You are different…” he said, more slowly this time.

“Yes, I can see I am different. Now if you don’t mind telling me your name and where I am, that would be wonderful. But if you are a spirit that can only say ‘you are different’ repeatedly, then I will be on my way.” Minseok let go of his sword and straightened his back to a more respectable posture.

“My name is Lu Han. I am a guide for the spirits that wander here, though I’m not entirely sure I should be leading you anywhere,” he said, more to himself than to Minseok.

  
Minseok now took his turn to give the person a once-over. His hair was long and black, skin fair and white like the rest of the landscape. But even more fair was his face, beautiful even, with wide dark eyes and plump, pink lips. He wore robes that were drab and gray, frayed at the edges and worn with time.

After taking in Lu Han’s character and not seeing any outward weapons, he bowed in his direction. “I am Kim Minseok, disciple of Mugunghwa Valley sect and leader of the renowned Hwarang.”

“Hwarang?” Lu Han questioned.

“We are the Flower Knights. Comprised of the most skilled disciples of our sect. Our spiritual bases, swordsmanship, and martial arts exceed the talents of many.” Minseok spoke with vigor. The thought of his Hwarang members never ceased to encourage him.

A glint flashed behind Lu Han’s eyes.

“You were a spiritual cultivator, then?”

Minseok nodded.

“And those are your spiritual weapons? Their essences followed you to the afterlife?”

“It… would appear so.” Minseok seemed wary of these types of questions. “Forgive me, but I did not realize the spirit realm was a common place amongst everyone. Your name is one from across the borders, yet you speak my language flawlessly.”

Lu Han waved him off. “You could be right. But I’m just a foreigner here.”

“Where are you from?”

Oddly enough, Lu Han just shrugged.

Mildly uncomfortable, Minseok continued, “The spirits you guide, where do you take them?”

Lu Han was silent for a long while. It looked as if he wanted to say something but found every possible restraint.

“I…”

“Lu Han!”

A tall man suddenly landed on the ground in front of him. The ground shook with his presence and as he stood tall, Minseok could see the faint outline of claws on his fingernails.

“You were supposed to be at the Hall an hour ago. What are you—”

As this new character spoke, Lu Han made a few weird faces and even brought a finger to his lips as if to shut the man up. Minseok watched as Lu Han failed to get the man’s attention. But he finally understood the situation: these two were demons. The claws were as clear as day on his hands.

  
Without another word, Minseok drew his bow and readied an arrow. The sudden movement of drawing back the bowstring finally caught the attention of the tall demon in between the two.

“What is the meaning—”

“Is this or is this not the demon realm?!” Minseok asked quickly.

The tall man tilted his head, much in the same fashion as Lu Han had done. He seemed confused, too. Lu Han just sighed and shook his head.

“You’re…different…” The newcomer said as his claws rescinded.

“Yes, I’ve been told! Now where am I, and why are there demons here?!” Minseok was nervous, of course, being outnumbered by demons whose powers he had no idea of.

“Please, Kim Minseok. Calm down and I will explain—” Lu Han stepped out in front of the tall man and put his arms out to calm him.

“You will explain nothing to him !” The tall man grabbed Lu Han’s shoulder and jerked him backwards, quite roughly.

Minseok did not know where to point his bow, so it went back and forth between the tall demon and Lu Han.

“We will detain him and bring him in to Master. We need to figure out what he is and why he got here—” Before the man could walk forward with a growing evil aura, Minseok fired his arrow.

The arrow flew with a whistling song and shone in a similar pink fashion to his sword.

But the demon captured the arrow with his bare hands, snapping it in half and tossing it aside.

“That was weak. I’m sure in the mortal world, that’d have hurt more. Unless you’re just as weak here as you were there.” A snarling laugh left his mouth as he stepped closer and closer. Both of his hands grew thick black scales and sharp black claws. The teeth in his mouth enlarged and his eyes began to glow a deep red.

Minseok drew another arrow out of fright and went to release it when the demon stopped dead in his tracks. His face contorted in an uncomfortable manner, and Minseok lowered his bow.

Suddenly, Lu Han stepped out from behind the man and pulled out a thin needle from his neck. It was so thin it could have almost been missed, had it not been for the way the light glimmered on it.

Lu Han suddenly ran for Minseok, hiding the needle in his sleeve and running past, but not before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the edge of the island. Minseok wanted to unsheathe his sword but Lu Han yanked him on, clearly not about to attack him.

Minseok looked over his shoulder, catching the last few glimpses of the stranger and his struggling and angry face before Lu Han yelled, “Jump! And don’t let go of me!”

Before Minseok could get any kind of reply in, he was pulled over the side and immediately dropped at an uncanny speed. Their robes flew up in a rush and Minseok could feel his hair turning into a mess. It was so odd to experience the feeling of the wind on his celestial body—it was both there and not there at the same time. He could feel the pressure and rush, but the cold that he figured would follow never brushed his skin.

The two fell for quite a while. Minseok would look over every so often and found Lu Han’s face firm. He was either deep in thought or the pressure was just a tad too much for him.

All the same, their hands did not break apart. There came a point when Minseok started feeling something tingle on the surface of his skin. It was not his true corporeal skin, but he could feel it, nonetheless. At first, it did not bother him, but the further they fell, the faster it grew all over his body. Then the pain exploded all over his body, causing him to shriek and yank his hands back. It was like his body was caught on fire, burning each way without any rest. Green flames began to flare up, not stopping until he was a flaming ball of green fire.

Minseok screamed at the top of his lungs, swatting the flames away to the best of his ability. Lu Han, once Minseok pulled away, turned around and immediately realized what was happening. Without thinking another thought, he turned into himself and then spread his arms, transforming into a full-fledged owl!

This was no ordinary owl—he was great in size with feathers a tad more colorful than the average eagle owl, and his tail feathers fluttered out like ribbons. On his head were antlers, tall and crooked that branched out like a magnificent stag, yet lines of dark cloth decorated it quite messily. And on his ankles were two golden shackles.

Minseok, however, did not have time to contemplate the transforming demon.

Lu Han raced around in a circle and opened his talons to grab Minseok. He flew fast and silently, straight back up the way they had come. It almost felt as if he was flying faster going up than when they were falling.

It was no time at all when Minseok’s body was rid of the flames. The pain was all but gone, except for a lingering residual burn that ached all over.

But the passing of the pain was not enough for Minseok to stay conscious. The moment his body was freed of the fire, he took a deep breath, and everything went black. He fainted while being whisked away by a giant demon owl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't realize how short the chapters were in the beginning haha, just you wait


	3. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: claustrophobia

[♪](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEbFDexY2FmOheTEcOnDnEf7OLJNtZ2ee) \- playlist

Minseok came to with the sound of running water by his head. It was a delicate sound, like a stream with a few rocks to warble the serene sounds. It really was a delight to hear it, but he had questions that needed to be answered. Below him he could feel the earth. There was fluffy soft grass everywhere, and bamboo stalks further away. He gave the place a good look—it was a small misshapen clearing in a bamboo forest.

He turned his head both left and right. To his right he found a small homemade firepit, nearly extinguished with bright embers. To his left was the small stream he had woken up to and a basket filled with all kinds of green leaves. Minseok sat straight up, not missing a beat and focusing his attention on his surroundings. There was no one in sight, so he turned around and caught a glimpse of someone walking down along the stream with a basket full of more greenery. It was Lu Han, fully in his human form and dressed in the same simple worn gray robes.

“You’re awake,” Lu Han announced as he neared.

Minseok nodded. “How long was I out?”

“A few hours. As the mortal world goes. Here? It doesn’t matter so much.” He knelt by the stream’s edge and ran each vegetable in his new basket in the water.

“Why are we here? What happened to me?” Minseok pressed as he turned his body over, but a dull ache radiated all over.

“I wouldn’t move so much if I were you,” Lu Han said without turning around.

Minseok paused and watched Lu Han’s back for a moment before settling back down on the ground.

“Your body.. or soul, I should say, was just rejected by a magical barrier that keeps mortals from entering the grounds of the Spirit Realm.” He spoke diligently and without fault, going through each vegetable in an efficient pace. “This place, these floating mountains and islands, they are the limbo of lost spirits. My job is to find them and take them down to the ground—to the Endless Hall for them to spend the rest of their existence. The other back there was Jung-Kai. He works directly in the Endless Hall.”

Minseok furrowed his brow. “There’s something not right here. Jung-Kai was very clearly a demon. What is a demon doing in a Spirit Realm?”

“I…” Lu Han started but found himself for a loss of words. “I.. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, or are you playing dumb?” Minseok pressed.

“I-I honestly do not know… Jung-Kai… He’s been here with me for a few hundred years now, I’ve been here for about five hundred… We’ve been working together for so long that I genuinely forgot he was a demon…”

“Then what of yourself? Did you forget you’re a demon, too?” Minseok spoke with a rather mocking tone.

“No, I’m not a demon…” He trailed off, pausing his vegetable washing for a moment.

“Not a demon?” Minseok nearly snorted. “I may not have sensed it at first, but I can feel the demonic aura you possess. What do you mean, not a demon?”

Lu Han was silent, his back unmoving.

Minseok was mildly concerned about this when, really, Lu Han was just lost in deep thought.

“I… don’t remember.”

Minseok sighed heavily. This conversation was just going in circles. There was no use to it now.

“I… I’ve been here for so long that I have forgotten many things. All I’ve done is guide spirits and live off the land here. I’ve let it shape me. But what I do remember very clearly was that I did not always belong here. And that I still want to be free.” Lu Han sat up straight on his heels, around his ankles Minseok could see two golden cuffs.

Minseok remembered seeing two clasp braces on the owl’s feet before he passed out. He wondered if they were like shackles, preventing him from leaving this place.

“…Is that why you stunned your friend?”

“Jung-Kai isn’t… really my friend,” Lu Han said, then turned around with the basket in his hand. He stood to his feet and knelt in front of the small fire. He then pulled one of the needles from his sleeves and used it to peel the bamboo shoots.

Minseok waited for him to elaborate.

“We… He doesn’t particularly like me. I’ve gotten the brunt of his claws many times just for his amusement and the back of his hand when I oppose him. And with your strange body here, I suddenly remembered the urge I used to have, the longing for freedom from here. So I took my chance and ran with you… But the ward, designed to keep the living from the dead just before the ground, kept me from bringing you away. You were unidentifiable. It took you as living and began to punish you for entering.”

Minseok raised one of his hands and turned it over.

“I can see that you are dead. But you also are not. You are here, but you are also not. Something is pulling you to the human realm. Something strong.”

“It might be a Soul Formation, I know a few people came at the last second to save me. They’re probably trying to gather the remnants of my soul to keep with them, rather than have it lost.”

Lu Han shook his head lightly as he placed each opened and peeled bamboo in the coals. “No… You are… Alive, somehow. There is something stronger keeping you together.. It is an emotion.”

Minseok raised a brow. “Of what?”

“Like love.”

Minseok was silent. It was hard to remember who was there when he died. The voices were mostly muddled in his head since he never got to see who had come to rescue him. It was hard to tell much of it; when on the brink of death, one does not comprehend much. But for some reason, something tugged at Minseok’s heart. There was one voice that was so familiar and a face so vaguely there that he was sure he knew it fairly well, but who was it? Whoever the person had been was almost unimportant next to the bittersweet feeling in his heart. He had no idea what it meant or why he was even feeling it.

So, to distract the odd swell in his heart, Minseok turned to Lu Han and berated him with more questions.

“What business did that Jung-Kai have with you in the Endless Hall, then?”

“I’m not too sure. I avoid his being as much as possible. Even if he might be my superior.” At some point Lu Han began to rub a bunch of leaves together in his hand and did this for a rather long time.

“Then what of this freedom? Why does my appearance make you think you can be given this freedom?”

“…Because you are different. You do not fully belong here. And in my duty as a spirit guide, I must take you to where you belong. I must take you back to the mortal realm… If I can do this, there may be a way for me to escape.”

“But what if we go back? What if I cannot enter my body? What if my body has decayed? I’d be a walking corpse then! No one would give me a second chance then!” Minseok raised his voice as his concerns ran through his mind.

He was dead, his body cut and bled dry. There was only a misconception with his soul, he either needed to cut its tie to the human realm or the spirit realm. There was no going back. He was plain as day dead! Minseok was always a very collected man. He may have been brash in his youth, but it was almost never without careful thought and consideration. Not to mention that he was very gentleman-like and known amongst all for his cold exterior, yet soft heart. But now, Minseok was confused and really had no idea of what to do with himself. For once in all his intelligent and well-calculated life, he had not seen what happened to him coming. He had no idea that he would be slain and sent to a spirit realm.

“I do not have an answer for you,” Lu Han said thoughtfully, still rubbing the leaves together until they were nothing but thin strips all twisted around each other. They were turning into something similar to tea leaves.

“Right… and.. how do you suppose we leave this place?”

Lu Han went to open his mouth and answer but nothing came out. He opened and closed it a couple of times before he settled on, “I-I don’t know.”

Minseok brought a hand to his face and rubbed it down with great force. This was an excruciating conversation.

“So, you do not know what you are. Or what Jung-Kai wants or what he is doing here, and you do not know how to help me, which could somehow help you.”

Lu Han nodded with a rather guilty expression on his face. He had finished rubbing the leaves and began to run them over the heat of the smokeless burning coals while they stayed in the basket.

“Okay, is there anything you _do_ know?”

“Yes!” Lu Han answered quickly with a bout of excitement. “I know many things! Like this land can produce many spiritually influenced items. These herbs, when I boil them with water, will create a soothing tea to help your soul heal. I also know that there are many spirit animals that may know something and can lead us around. And I know the various nooks and crannies that Jung-Kai does not, which means I can keep us hidden from him for now. I’m sure he is not pleased with my… actions earlier.” Lu Han trailed off.

Minseok nodded in agreeance. He would rather not have to deal with a demon at the moment. Especially with all these unknown factors to this world and himself.

“Then I will count on you to keep us hidden.”

Lu Han nodded toward Minseok then offered a soft smile.

They remained silent as Lu Han worked over the burning coals, sticking his hand deliberately into them and turning the bamboo shoots before they burned. He worked diligently and Minseok thought to ask to help, but he decided against it. Lu Han seemed focused in thought and he didn’t want to disturb him.

Minseok hadn’t even realized one of the rocks supporting the burning coals was actually filled with water. He hadn’t noticed it until he saw the steam trickling from the top and drifting away without dissipating. It simply flowed right into the mist that surrounded all of the land.

Eventually Minseok found that his eyes grew tired again, his body still ached with a dull pain, so he lay back down into the grass. Before he knew it, his eyes closed and he fell into another slumber.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Darkness surrounded Minseok, a familiar kind of darkness he knew as a child. Minseok had been orphaned at a very young age, found in the rubble of a house after a demon raid on his village. A Taoist monk who had left the spiritual cultivation world had found him crying and brought him back to the temple he lived in. The only thing Minseok knew at this young age was his name and few simple sentences.

That monk raised Minseok for many years, and within those years there were many attacks on the temple. Attacks from warring cultivators, demons, demonic cultivators and so on. And each of those times, the monk would always hide Minseok beneath the floorboards of the temple. He would wait hours, sometimes days before someone came to fetch him. But each time grew no better. Minseok hated the dark, he hated the floorboards, he hated small cramped spaces. He never knew what happened on the other side. Just the occasional scream and slashing of blood that would spray. Only a few of the Taoist monks did not survive in those years. Had it not been for Minseok’s direct guardian, they would have lost their temple long ago.

Shim Changmin was the Taoist monk’s name, one who had practiced spiritual cultivation for seventy years before leaving to serve the mortal villages. His disdain for the material use of cultivation bested him and he could not stand many of his fellow comrades. So he left to help aid the mortals in the best way he could. His skill in fighting was unmatched by many and his spiritual power, despite not properly cultivating it, was immense as he spent a lot of his time meditating.

Minseok learned early on to meditate from him and began to cultivate through Master Shim. The opportunity to further his studies came along when Minseok was just ten years old. An old friend of Master Shim had appeared during a war of demonic cultivators and cultivators alike. He was the son of the leader of Mugunghwa Valley Sect, one of the most prominent sects of cultivation east of the mainland.

Minseok showed promise as a disciple and agreed to study the immortal cultivation way under the Mugunghwa Valley Sect. From there he left the temple with the young master and went off to the secluded valley where he lived for the rest of his years, developing his core at an alarming rate and showing great promise as a cultivator.

And although he never had to stay beneath the floorboards again, it did not sway his heart from being afraid of the dark or small places.

And now, like most of his nightmares, he sat alone in a small, cramped and dark place. He hugged his knees and buried his head in them. It was cold and damp, like he was sandwiched between solid stone walls.

Minseok didn’t know how long he stayed there for. He focused on his breath and thought of anything to get his mind off the situation. He only wished that he would wake up. He tried to meditate, but could not focus. He tried to cut off his five senses, but the dreamscape was too powerful on his mind.

Not too long after, the sound of scuffling on top of rock caught him off guard. He looked up and in every which direction the sound moved. A cold sweat beaded down his forehead and his heart pounded. He hoped that it was someone to get him out, but he had no voice to yell for help.

Then the sound of stone grating on stone burned in his ears. A small stream of light slowly grew bigger and bigger over him as something opened just above his head.

When the sound stopped and the opening was wide enough to fit a person, a dark shadow appeared in the way of the bright light. Minseok could not see who it was, especially since he covered his eyes from the bright trickling light.

“Minseok…” A familiar voice called out in its honey-like tone. Rich and light in color, it was truly a beautiful sound.

A hand reached into the crevice, revealing a pale wrist and a white sleeve. After only a moment of hesitation, Minseok reached out his hand and grabbed onto the strong one. Without another second wasted, Minseok was hoisted from the space and through the opening and into the bright world above. He balanced himself on top of the rock with one hand as the other stayed in the person’s grip.

It took a moment before Minseok’s eyes adjusted to the white area around him, eventually his eyes landed on the person in front of him. He bore a large smile through the sheer cloth hanging from his hat. His eyes went up in crescents and his smile turned into the curves of a cat. His white and emerald green robes were particularly brilliant in the bright light.

A breath was drawn from Minseok’s lips as he stared at the person before him, stunned that he would ever see him in this kind of situation.

“You…” Minseok went to speak when their fingers entwined.

The man raised his other hand to his lips and shushed him with a single finger. He then brought up their intertwined fingers and pressed them against his chest.

Minseok’s cheeks turned red immediately, both in anger and embarrassment. He hated this man with every fiber in his being. He would rather stay inside the rock than hold his hand.

But as Minseok went to pull his hand away, he felt it tug back. He could not move it free from the man’s grasp. He pulled again with a bewildered face, his eyes never leaving the soft smile on the man’s lips.

Minseok woke on the last pull, he shot straight up and held his head. He looked around to make sure he was in the same spot, and thankfully he was. Night had fallen on the surrounding land, though the mist seemed thicker than usual.

A sigh left Minseok’s lips when he noticed Lu Han was gone and that all seemed clear.

“…What bad luck… To see Kim Jongdae in a dream like that…”

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Morning, if one could call it that, came by with light spreading across the mystical land. It woke Minseok with a stutter to his eyelids as the light flooded in. He looked around for a moment to take in his surroundings and found Lu Han fiddling with something by the fire.

Minseok sat up with a wince as a dull pain radiated throughout his limbs.

“Easy, don’t want you fainting again.” Lu Han watched as Minseok hunched over in mild pain.

“I’m fine.” Minseok harrumphed.

Lu Han nodded after watching him for a moment, clearly, Minseok was not fine.

“Where were you last night?” Minseok asked once he had fully surveyed the area to make sure everything was fine.

“You woke up? I’m sorry, I must have missed that. I was surveying the area, making sure Jung-Kai wasn’t anywhere to be seen.”

Minseok nodded in understanding.

“I have some tea here from the leaves I dried out. These should help against the pain. I give this to spirits in mourning. I know you’re not, but it may help numb up the residual pain.” Lu Han handed over the stone cup from the fire. It was quite cool.

Minseok took the stone cup and gave it a careful look. It seemed like any other regular cup of tea. He was sure that if Lu Han had ill intentions towards him, he would have expressed them with those long, concealed needles.

He brought the cup to his face, giving it a light sniff before taking a small sip. It was much like a simple white tea, aromatic but not overpowering. He quite liked it after a few sips, in fact.

“And this is supposed to help?” he asked after drinking almost half the cup.

Lu Han nodded. “That’s the idea. I give this to the spirits that need to calm down. Some are frightened, stricken with grief, or angered to every extent when they arrive. The leaves from this place help alleviate those feelings before I take them down. However, I don’t think it’ll work quite as strongly as it does for them since you are so… different.”

Minseok nodded in understanding. “Why would some spirits arrive angry or hysterical? Wouldn’t their soul be left in the mortal world if they felt incomplete?”

Lu Hand was silent for a moment. “I do not ever ask, for there is no one to ask but me who has been here for nearly five hundred years. But I could not answer you anything other than that spirits are as they please. They can scatter to the wind or roam stone halls for generations to come. In all my years I’ve never thought to study why some come with certain emotions. I assume that when the spirit world calls for them, they answer.”

Minseok was silent as he sipped on the tea. He wondered how this worked, how this whole spirit realm worked. Were the leaves ghostly items going into his ghostly body? Or was everything here physical? What would happen if a mortal entered this realm? Could they drink this, too?

“And this Jung-Kai? Do you know where he is?”

Lu Han shook his head. “No, but I suspect he’s tending to spirits right now. There’s only so much he can do before the spirits overflow.”

“Overflow?”

“Yes, because Jung-Kai regulates the spirits that stay in the hall, he makes sure that no one is out of place. If they end up out of line, then the hall will spill over with the thousands of spirits inside. It would cause a huge mess and a beyond-angry Jung-Kai.”

“Then what about you? Shouldn’t you guide spirits over?”

“This place is vast, and spirits don’t trickle in as quickly as you think. I can leave them alone and wandering for a little while. The hall, however, is constantly filled and in need of tending. That is what Jung-Kai does. He regulates space. I am simply the messenger who brings the spirits over.”

“Then what about when you leave? What happens then?”

“I.. do not know…” he says solemnly. “I just know that the need to take flight and hide is very strong.. I think I’ve been here for so long that my memories and thoughts have melded into one.”

“That many years.. confined to one space… That would be… unfair.”

“I don’t know how I got here or why I even have this job. All I know is that I do it, even though I do not want to.”

Minseok nodded. “Then can I ask why you have baskets and cups here? Do you have a home nearby?”

“Technically, no. I don’t. I sleep anywhere, as the weather is always fair. But these items I keep hidden here. I escape to this small oasis from Jung-Kai when he becomes too overbearing. Here I feel..” Lu Han let a hand press into the grass, running his fingers gingerly through it. “More alive with these small things. Picking flowers and fruits to eat. Roasting them lightly and drying others in the smoke.”

Minseok raised a brow, “But smoking something or drying something can take a couple of days. I imagine you never stay away from your job too long?”

“I would,” Lu Han said proudly. “I’d stay missing for as long as two nights, his job is much more complicated and attentive than mine.” Lu Han plucked a single blade of grass and inspected it.

“What does he do exactly?”

“I’ve never been told explicitly. But when I see him in the Hall, he is always angry. Lining spirits up and keeping them in check with a long black whip. But I don’t know why he does this…” Lu Han trailed off while grasping a handful of the smoked leaves. He crushed them in between his fingers and sprinkled them into another stone cup of boiling water.

“I am beginning to think that I shouldn’t trust you. You consistently don’t know or remember a lot of things.”

Lu Han's body deflated. “I know..” he sighed out. “I also question my credibility sometimes.. And you? Why should I trust that you won’t harm me if I am a demon?”

Minseok shrugged. “You have yet to show hostility towards me. Although I am taught no demon can do good, I don’t believe it. There are too many demons in the world to think all can harbor ill intentions. And with you, unlike your tall friend, I don’t sense any murderous intent. You are very… placid.”

“I’ll take that as a good sign.” Lu Han smiled lightly. “Now, moving to other areas of importance: how to get back.”

“Do you have something in mind?” Minseok asked, nearly excited.

Lu Han leaned over and made sure to look him square in the eye. “Yes. I want to speak to the animals.”

Minseok blinked a few times in astonishment. Maybe there really was no going back? Lu Han seemed actually insane.

“That’s ridiculous,” Minseok finally said.

“It’s not, they get around much more than I do. I’m sure some of them must know a thing or two.”

“And how do you expect to speak to them?”

“Easy! Just speak their language.”

Minseok gave the demon an incredulous look, though something was telling him to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Unless these animals somehow speak the same language we do, I don’t see how this could possibly work.” 

He leaned over to grab one of the grilling bamboo shoots but was stopped quite harshly. Lu Han smacked his hand away and the shoots that had been roasting since the day before dropped into the burning coals.

“Those are not for you.” 

Minseok slunk his hand back and hugged it with feigned hurt and confusion.

“Then who for, if not me?!” Minseok nearly cried.

“Myself, if not you. But these are not for me. They are for my small friends. Who in return will give me information.”

Minseok’s lip twitched in irritation. “Why do they need roasted bamboo when they can just eat it raw?”

“You can eat tea leaves raw, but wouldn’t it taste better if you steeped them in water after they were dried?”

He had a point.

“Fair enough.”

“Besides,” Lu Han continued. “Your body cannot eat things. This weird in-between state that you are in, I imagine, would reject food as a spirit would. In fact, you shouldn’t have any need or desire to eat.”

Minseok thought for a moment. The demon wasn’t wrong after all. He really didn’t have any desire to eat anything, it was more of a habit to snack on something when it was in front of him.

“Then how can I drink this tea?”

“The tea is not normal tea. Because the leaves of this world are made from here, they are imbued with special properties. Someone like myself with a physical body drinking this would not feel anything. It would just be like drinking empty space. And since you can drink the tea, your body works similarly for food. Spirits don’t crave food. The same as you do not crave the tea, but you can consume it. They may feel the anxiety of famine or the phantom pain of hunger, but nothing drives them to actually consume anything. If they did, then they are not spirits. They are yao, absorbing spiritual essences to cultivate power.”

“…Well, I guess you aren’t all useless. You know your cultivation facts.”

Lu Han smiled to himself in his own small triumphant moment. “I would say I know a thing or two.”

“But still, nothing about me?”

Lu Han shook his head in dismay.

Minseok sighed. “Then let’s just figure this out, shall we?”

“Of course. We shall start the process now.” Lu Han stood and carried one of his wicker baskets on his hip.

Minseok hadn’t even seen him gather all the charred bamboo shoots in the basket. He wondered where he had even put all of them so quickly.

“Come, we start this way.” He gave another pleasing smile and turned on the balls of his bare feet. The shackles on his ankles twinkled slightly as Minseok watched him from close behind.

“Where are we going?”

“Further into the forest.”

“How far back does this island go?”

“This one is decently long. It is one of the larger Immortal Islands.”

“Immortal Islands?”

“Yes,” He gave a nod again. “I named the floating lands the Immortal Islands. They’ve been here since I have, not once have they faltered or fallen to the bottom. Therefore, I named them the Immortal Islands…” Lu Han seemed to mumble something under his breath, but it was much too faint for Minseok to hear, even if his senses, as a cultivator, were heightened.

The chalky ground beneath them was otherwise like any other ground in the mortal realm. It crunched like dirt and left delicate outlines of their tread, bare feet and the trackless soles of smooth boots. In addition to the sounds of the small creek beside them, as they walked further into the bamboo forest, the occasional sound of a locust or other small bug swished by. It sounded as if it were the thick of summer but without the heat. The fantastical birds flew in and out of the bamboo, singing sorrowful songs in sounds Minseok had never quite heard before. It was like fresh spring water trickling into a hidden mountain side lake, majestic. Almost like he wasn't meant to listen to those sounds.

As they walked along the bank of the stream, the forest thickened and the mist bided at the sides. Almost as if something told it to stay away: _make way, for they walk and seek passage._

Minseok walked lightly, ready for anything that might come his way. Turning his head in every which direction that the smallest sound came from, he was on edge. Gripping the bow secured by his side, his knuckles were almost white with color. He was confused as to why he was so nervous. He was usually more collected than this in high-stress situations, much more terrible than heading off into the unknown. He couldn't explain it—it felt like his heart was constricting and pulsing against his chest, a humid sweat even started to feel as if it was permeating the skin he was sure he could not feel. With wavering eyes, he looked down and held out his hands. His vision felt fuzzy, like everything was splitting in two while simultaneously hazing in and out.

"What..." he muttered before looking up to see what Lu Han was doing.

Lu Han had another placid smile on his delicate features, placing the charred bamboo shoots down on the ground. His arched back and hand that held a wicker basket gave off a nostalgic feeling to Minseok. Like he had seen someone bend over and harvest something so many times before. But he could not remember for the life of him. And as he tried to remember, his eyes fizzled greatly. He shut them tight and looked back down at his hands. A pulse battered his chest, slamming against it as if someone were using him as a sparring dummy.

"What is happening.." he said in a low voice, very out of breath.

Suddenly, an image of something flashed across his eyes. It was another person, shrouded in bright light and glistening, yet the look on their face was heavy with worry.

"Kim Jong.. dae.." Minseok said as he fell to a knee, succumbing to the pain in his chest.

Another flash of said man struck across his sight, this time it was of Kim Jongdae in a much more serene expression. His eyes were closed and his hair was down, cascading over his shoulders and nearly covering the entirety of his face. Minseok had never seen him look so… _beautiful_ before.

He sat in the lotus position, meditating for some reason in the bright golden light that surrounded him. Minseok tilted his head in confusion. Why was Kim Jongdae here? Why did he keep appearing everywhere?

"Kim Jongdae," Minseok called out. His voice echoed in an odd way, like it was underwater and hard to understand. It threw him off guard for a moment, but what confused him even more was the fact that his body wasn't in pain. He felt nothing again, just like when he first arrived.

There was no response to the call.

"Lord Sungjeong." Minseok used Kim Jongdae’s title in hopes that he would answer to that instead.

Yet again, no response.

Minseok stepped forward, leaning in and hunching down to get a better look at the face hidden behind all the hair. It was hard to see, so he stood in front of the seated body, leaned in and reached out a hand to push back the hair.

"Jongdae," he whispered as he tucked the hair behind Jongdae's ear.

Jongdae's eyes shot open. They were light in color, gray and clear like a heavily overcast morning sky. He looked directly up at Minseok. Something about the look in his eyes made Minseok's stomach churn with unease.

Minseok stepped back with a stumble, never breaking eye contact with the man on the ground.

All of that took place in a matter of seconds, much too fast for any mortal to comprehend. Even Minseok barely understood what was happening before a gasp left his lips and he was back in the bamboo forest.

Minseok panted in a panicked stupor, looking side to side and eventually to his rear before confirming that he was back in the spirit realm.

"What... What just happened?" he said mostly to himself, he had nearly forgotten Lu Han was supposed to be with him.

"Hm?" Lu Han asked as he stood straight, basket still held on his hip. When he saw the look on Minseok's face, his face immediately contorted. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I... Did I leave just now?"

Lu Han slowly shook his head. "You've been there the whole time, from what I remember.. At least.. I don't remember seeing you leave?"

Minseok let one last breath out of his lips before taking a hand and wiping his face of the sweat he thought was there. But for some reason, it only felt like there was perspiration, there wasn't anything actually there.

"I'm getting tired of this," he said offhandedly and used his sheathed sword to help him stand back up.

As he stood tall and straightened his shoulders, he couldn’t help but notice how the charred bamboo shoots that Lu Han had made were aligned in a very particular manner. A small circle of the shoots was in the middle, then another larger ring and after that, an even larger one. Dispersed in between each ring and the outside were the leaves from the bamboo trees, all fixed in one direction. It was a neat and tidy little display, utterly unnecessary, but lovely to look at otherwise. It made Minseok wonder just how long he had been in that strange moment, because he surely did not remember seeing Lu Han make any portion of it.

“Is this a summoning circle?” Minseok asked as he sidled up beside Lu Han.

Lu Han stood on the edge of it with a proud smile on his features and arms crossed on his chest.

“Hm? Oh, no, not really.”

Minseok’s brows twitched when Lu Han did not explain any further. “Then what do we do now?”

“Now,” Lu Han backtracked with a triumphant step. “We wait.” He plopped his behind straight onto the ground, a good ways from the circular bamboo shoot arrangement.

Almost two hours went by before anything happened. Minseok’s head was lolling to the side from overly concentrating on waiting for something to come by. He could feel the sleep slowly creeping in while they waited, but when it finally seemed like something was coming, he jolted straight up.

Rustling in the bushes came with the sounds of a few squeaks; even Lu Han perked his sagging body up to see what the commotion would bring about.

But after waiting intensely for a couple of minutes, the animal went screeching out in the opposite direction. Both Minseok and Lu Han sighed, one out of dejection and the other in annoyance. So the waiting game went on. In fact, because it felt like they had been waiting for so long, Minseok took that as his opportunity to meditate. Maybe it was possible to calm down his spiritual activity and figure out what was going on with his body.

Minseok was only a few hours into meditating when something finally happened. Lu Han put a hand on Minseok’s shoulder and whispered, “There’s one!”

Minseok opened his eyes in a groggy manner, slowly coming back to his present state. It wasn’t a very successful meditation, as he felt disconnected from everything, like he couldn’t quite get a grasp himself.

As his eyes fluttered open, he cast his glance to a small creature that had been crawling its way around the outer ring of the bamboo shoots.

It was a very small, gray thing with black rings around its eyes and a long tail with what looked like a blue and hairy tip. The peculiar thing about the tip of the tail was that the fur moved as if it flickered, like a flame in the midst of a breeze.

Minseok leaned in as he watched the animal sniff around the food. He was being rather impatient, waiting for some sort of approval from Lu Han.

“What do we do now? Do we capture it?” he whispered, nearly standing to his feet.

Lu Han shook his head. “No, we must wait for its confirmation.”

Minseok nearly grimaced at the demon beside him, what on earth was a mouse going to do to give them a confirmation? A confirmation of what? That it liked the charred bamboo shoots?

“That’s it! Stay here.” Lu Han whispered excitedly and got to his feet.

As if to answer all those questions, Lu Han’s confirmation was waiting for the mouse to start nibbling at the center most pieces of the bamboo—which it did. Lu Han carefully sauntered over, not daring to make any sudden movements or loud noises to scare it off. The mouse saw him coming over and stopped nibbling at the bamboo and instead watched him closely.

Lu Han bowed his head politely at the small thing and the moment he was close enough, he knelt to one knee. He extended a single hand in front of the small thing and waited for it to respond.

The mouse took a second, sniffing the air before raising on its hind legs. Its two small front legs hung at its sides and its large round ears tucked back as it reached its minuscule nose to Lu Han’s finger tips. The small thing was probably as long as Lu Han’s smallest finger and small enough to fit at least ten in one hand.

It closed its eyes delicately as it sniffed at Lu Han’s fingers, finding no qualms with him. It reached out its small front paw and placed it gingerly on Lu Han’s index finger. One paw after the other, it slowly crept until it was entirely on his hand.

Still not making any sudden movements, Lu Han lifted the mouse high and placed a small stash of electric blue mulberry-looking fruits on his palm for the creature to eat.

Lu Han beckoned underneath his upright palm for Minseok to come over, then mouthed the word ‘slowly.’ Obliging, Minseok walked over in a very cautious fashion to Lu Han’s side.

The mouse flinched once Minseok was near enough to see him, his tail wrapping tightly around Lu Han’s wrist.

“It’s okay, no need to worry.” Lu Han smiled so kindly that the mouse actually seemed to respond by relaxing its grip and having its ears go back while eating the mulberries.

Minseok was finally near enough to see the creature up close—it looked just like a field mouse, just slightly more intricate and with an actual fire at the end of its tail. They both stood there as the mouse ate, Lu Han watching with a loving gaze while Minseok gazed with stern eyes. But Minseok could only watch for so long before he grew impatient.

“What now?” he asked in a whispering voice.

“Now, we ask it a question.” Lu Han answered with an endearing smile.

Minseok wondered if Lu Han’s cheeks ever felt pain, all they seemed to do was smile.

“Little friend,” Lu Han whispered. “May I ask you a question?”

The mouse put the mulberry to the side, perching one paw on it as if listening to Lu Han’s words.

A moment later he brought his hand to his ear and cupped the space, Minseok couldn’t see anything of the mouse, just the various faces Lu Han made as he ‘listened’ to the small creature. The faces ranged from mild surprise to furrowed brows, nothing serious.

He brought the mouse down and asked, “Little friend, my friend here—he is different.” He beckoned in the direction of Minseok.

Minseok froze, not expecting to be brought into the situation so suddenly.

The mouse turned in Lu Han’s hand and took a good long look at him before turning back to Lu Han.

“Do you know anything about this?” Lu Han asked then brought the mouse back to his ear.

Minseok waited eagerly, wanting desperately to know what the mouse was saying—and how it was even saying it at all!

“Do you know of anyone who might know what is wrong with him? We’re trying to get him back to where he belongs.”

The mouse stayed close to Lu Han’s ear for a long while after this last question. The demon nodded every so often, responding with “mnn” as if he understood very clearly what the mouse was explaining to him.

“Thank you, little friend, I appreciate your humble advice. I will let you go now.” Lu Han smiled complacently and was about to lean down when the mouse dashed up the cloth of his arm and to his shoulder to whisper something once more. Lu Han leaned in as if listening eagerly to what he had to say. A large and toothy smile spread his lips before he said, “Of course, my friend. This was made to your liking after all.”

The mouse dashed down his arm and back into his palm, Lu Han let the small creature go and it quickly got to work on stuffing small pieces of bamboo and the berries into its mouth.

As the small thing scampered away, Minseok walked up beside Lu Han and asked, “What did he say?” He had almost convinced himself that the mouse really did talk to the demon.

“He wanted to know if he could take the rest of the bamboo for his family.” Lu Han said with a smile as the small thing disappeared into the woods.

Minseok’s brow twitched, “Didn’t.. Didn’t you make it for one of these creatures anyways?”

“Mhm! I made it specifically for his species. They’re picky eaters. They only eat things that are pretty, meaning if I want to summon one of them, I have to make a nice array for them.”

Minseok harrumphed at that. “They’re rodents, why do they need to be so picky?”

“It’s the same with you or any kind of human. A buffet of homemade dishes in nice plates and silverware are more attractive than dirt and grime or shabby dishes.”

“But it’s a rat…” Minseok mumbled quite fiercely to himself.

“A mouse.”

“Huh?”

Lu Han turned to face him. “It is actually a mouse.”

Minseok sucked in a sharp breath of air and clenched a fist. “You—”

“But that’s not important. I have a lead.”

Minseok waited for him to speak, nearly gesturing with his body for him to make any kind of indication as to what could be next.

Lu Han simply held up his index finger..

“One,” Minseok confirmed.

Lu Han lightly shook his head. “No. Up.”

Minseok looked up to the sky where he pointed. There was nearly nothing. Just the thick covering of bamboo and the mist that it kept at bay.

“What’s _up?”_

“My little mouse friend told me that there is a creature, higher up in the Immortal Islands. A creature that has existed since this place was first created. It is an island smaller than this one, he said, but it contains a crooked tree at the very top of one of its rock mountains. That will be our destination.”

“I suspect you’ll fly up there, then?” Minseok unsheathed his sword and immediately the glint of metal shone bright pink. At a hand signal, his sword flew down by his feet, levitating perfectly horizontal to the ground.

“I can… But I’m afraid that my animal form will be much too conspicuous. Jung Kai will see me for sure, if he’s looking for me. And I’m sure he’s looking high and low for us right now. So we should move from here quickly.”

Minseok rolled his eyes. Wasn’t Lu Han the one who decided to wait for hours just for this mouse to come around?

“Then ride with me,” Minseok said with a shrug as he stepped up onto his sword.

Lu Han nodded and easily complied by stepping on with grace. Most who have not ridden a cultivator’s sword have trouble getting on or keeping balance, yet Lu Han seemed fine. Thank goodness for that, or else Minseok would have had another metaphysical headache to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to clarify, jung kai is not jongin!! it's jack j yang!!
> 
> also the need to snack on something bc it's in front of them is a whole ass mood


	4. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence

They took off at decent pace, not too fast to scare Lu Han and not too slow to hinder their hastiness. The leaves and bamboo all parted to the side with another hand sign from Minseok, as if a strong gust of wind shoved them all out of their way. As the leaves parted and mist cleared, they were out in the open again. The floating islands were as beautiful and mystifying as before, misty and tranquil with streams of water falling off their edges.

Without notice, Lu Han’s arms snaked around Minseok’s waist the higher they traveled. It was a firm grip that was slightly uncomfortable.

“Try and stay hidden by the sides of the islands. Don’t fly out into open space!” Lu Han said against the wind rushing through his hair.

As they flew high into the sky, Minseok kept a keen eye on the islands, making sure there was not a single one he missed in their search. The only problem was that it seemed like there was almost no end to the islands. How high did the highest island go up? How wide did the islands span? Even as he turned his head to ask Lu Han these things, he couldn’t help but notice how the demon’s eyes were closed. The wind swept his hair behind his ears and all around, creating a serene picture about him. He seemed so… peaceful with the way his eyes were shut.

Minseok suddenly sensed something of danger in front of him and changed his focus back to steering when a flock of the mysterious long-tailed white birds flew past one of the islands. Minseok yelped and whirled them around in a sloppy manner to get them back to a suitable traveling pace.

“What happened?!” Lu Han searched below them in a panic.

“N-Nothing!” If his cheeks could show the embarrassment he felt for his little mess-up, he would be bright red. Not far from the colors of his uniform.

“Okay, just steady, we don’t want to draw any unwanted attention. The animals might even be working for him.”

Minseok nodded in understanding and rose even higher into the sky. When it seemed like there would be no other islands above them, Minseok went straight on, keeping a keen eye out for the island with a crooked tree.

They flew for a good long while, thinking they had found the island several times but to no avail. They were either too large or simply void of any kind of animal life. It appeared as if the animals stayed in the lower levels of the islands, even the birds refused to go any higher than a few levels below them.

“Wait!” Lu han shrieked and pointed off to the side. “A tree at the top of a high rock that bends over to the side. That fits our description!”

“You said that about the last island.” Minseok cast his gaze to the tree and Lu Han seemed particularly correct. It was so far the most accurate.

“No, but this one feels right!” Lu Han insisted.

Minseok rolled his eyes but let their course change towards the island. It was of medium to small size, far away from most of the other islands on this particular level. The islands became few and far between the higher they went, but this one was particularly far away.

The sword arrived with precision and hovered just a finger’s length from the ground to allow them off. Minseok held onto Lu Han’s hand as he jumped down, making sure the sudden change from air to land wouldn’t make his equilibrium fail. But then he remembered that Lu Han could transform into an owl, so he was probably plenty used to landing.

Lu Han suddenly took in a deep breath, motioning with his hands as if he was helping the air flow out.

“Yes.. There’s something… weird here.” Lu Han opened his eyes and they seemed to focus on something in the distance, as if he was feeling out for whatever was here.

Minseok took a second to sense if there was anything in the area, malicious or spiritual, yet he could sense none of it. He raised a brow and said, “What do you mean, weird? Is it good or bad?”

Lu Han took a few steps forward, leading with his head as if something was beckoning to him.

The white pine trees were denser than usual on this particular island. The ground was soft with the bedding of brown pine needles along the ground. As Minseok stepped, he couldn’t help but notice how his feet made hardly a sound without him even trying to mask his presence. But the closer he looked, he couldn’t help but notice how the needles were spruced up in some areas—there were some mounds and traces of disturbance along the floor. Minseok paused, letting his gaze follow the trail around and in the same direction as Lu Han.

Minseok quickly crouched and brushed one of the piles to the side. Below was the paw print of something large, nearly bear-like. And fresh.

They were not alone.

Minseok shot back up, only to find that Lu Han had disappeared.

“Shit!” He muttered as he took off through the pine needles. He didn’t want to call out the demon’s name, for fear that whatever was on the island would attack if alerted.

Jumping over shrub and rock, Minseok found Lu Han in no time—the island really wasn’t large enough for him to get far. But that also meant that the island wasn’t large enough to keep them from the unknown animal.

Lu Han stood in front of the tallest rock on the island, where the bent-over tree resided. The tree was deceptively large, one of the largest white pines Minseok had ever gazed upon.

“Lu Han, careful! There’s something big here—” Before he could finish warning the demon, something shuffled in the branches of the tree.

A large black paw with bright white, sharp nails came out from the cover of pine needles. A low grunt was heard, as if sniffing the air intensely. Then another sleek paw came down, thick and flat.

As the creature trundled down in a menacing manner, its large black nose and dark body presented itself. It landed on the ground with a thud and cloud of the pale dirt around its feet.

Minseok’s face immediately went pale. He had only ever heard of this animal and seen broad depictions in scrolls and books.

“A wolverine..” Lu Han whispered in a breathy tone.

The wolverine paced the base of the tree, showing its immense size. Wolverines were typically the size of a medium dog, but this… This was too large to be any kind of a normal animal. The outer layer of yellow-white fur on its back and rear glistened with a silver shine whenever the light of the sky poked through the shade of the tree.

Low huffs could be heard from the animal as it paced; it was clearly unhappy with the situation and wanted to be left alone.

Minseok noticed something odd about its face—on its eye was a scar that stretched back to its ear. Then the lack of fur in some places on its leg was evident when it would turn around and pace in an opposite direction. It limped with an odd gait, clearly favoring the injured leg. Whatever had happened to it had happened a long time ago, but healed quite terribly.

The wolverine broke out from the shade of the tree and dared to step forward.

Minseok took a step back, knowing that these beasts were beyond ferocious. He just never expected it to be the size of a bear!

Lu Han did not move, in fact, whatever Lu Han was thinking was beyond him. Taking on a small mouse from the spirit realm was one thing, but a whole wolverine was another. Fearing to say anything and disrupt the beast’s focus, Minseok stayed silent, hoping that Lu Han wouldn’t try anything stupid.

“You limp,” Lu Han said.

The wolverine snarled with a terrible noise of murderous intent. It bared its teeth as saliva dripped down, showing such a fearsome nature. Its eyes were no better, glistening with the mischievous need to pounce and kill at any moment.

Because of all this, Minseok slowly reached around his back to grab onto his bow. He would have to protect Lu Han at all costs if he wanted to figure out what was going on with his body.

Lu Han, brazenly, took a step forward, and the wolverine set off without warning. Its back and fur pounded with the force its steps took, yet it was all too fast.

Minseok barely had any time to take out his bow and nock an arrow before Lu Han was pressed into the ground with great force.

The panic that swept through Minseok’s mind took over and he let an arrow loose. It dug right into the back of the beast. It hadn’t made a noise of pain and instead roared in Lu Han’s face before changing its attention to Minseok.

It set off for him at once.

Based on the reaction to a single arrow, Minseok knew that he would need at least twenty arrows of full power to take this beast down. He readied another arrow, his chest pounding with great anxiety as he focused his power, watching as it lit up with a pink light.

 _“Wait!”_ Lu Han screamed in fear. Minseok was thrown off guard for a moment and turned his gaze at the demon that was still getting up from the ground. “Don’t shoot.”

Before those words could even reach Minseok’s ears, the wolverine had pounced against his chest and took him down in full force. One paw sat on his chest, dense and bearing a weight suitable for a basket of bricks.

 _“Halt!”_ Lu Han’s voice came again, this time firm and the most forceful he had ever been.

The wolverine stopped snarling at once, retracted its paw from Minseok’s chest and let out a few whiffs of breath, as if huffing and puffing from an argument.

“Stand down,” Lu Han demanded, and the wolverine backed off. Its head stayed low, still ready to attack at any moment.

Minseok stayed on the ground, panting and bearing quite a dumb expression of fear on his face. Perched on his elbows, he watched carefully as the wolverine paced around him, sniffing and duly checking him out.

“You are weird.”

Not truly understanding where that voice had come from, Minseok furrowed his brows and looked over at Lu Han. He was much too far away for it to be his voice and it was ten times rougher and more unpleasant to listen to.

The wolverine simply paced, skulking in an overly aggressive manner around Minseok’s completely vulnerable body.

“Did you just..” Minseok looked over at the beast, meeting its eyes and immediately regretting it. They were ferocious, filled with hatred and a hint of confusion.

When Minseok did not finish his sentence, the beast lost interest in the lying body and lurked its way over to Lu Han. It gave a heavy grunt as it passed the demon, not quite welcoming but enough to know that they weren’t unwanted.

“Bold of you,” the beast spoke again, its back facing the two of them as it neared the white pine. “To show your face to me. After all these years.” The beast laid on the ground, sandwiched in a crevice of the tree’s roots, and crossed one paw over the other.

The statement was ambiguous. Minseok felt and knew no connection to this beast but he still could not tell who it was talking to.

Lu Han on the other hand… felt it a little more deeply.

“Do I… know you?” Lu Han stepped forward with a heavy air of curiosity about him.

Minseok rose to his feet and watched carefully with his bow in hand.

The beast laughed, it was almost… mocking. “‘Do I know you,’ he says.” The beast huffed at the end and laid its head down, facing in the opposite direction of the two.

“And I ask sincerely… I… don’t have many memories of who I was or why I’ve been here for so long. But if I can ask you a couple of things, I think it would help.”

The beast gave no response and kept its head on the ground.

It was a good while before Lu Han took another step forward. “Would it make you feel better if I said you were familiar? Those words I used to make you stop attacking my friend.. I feel like I’ve said them before,” Lu Han said in a soft voice, more for himself really.

The beast still did not bother with them.

“…Can you at least tell me your name?” Lu Han prodded again, but to no avail. He sighed and let a hand rub the back of his hair. This was a difficult task.

Minseok stood for a moment to himself, thinking of what to do. He figured they had started off on the wrong foot. What better way to make it right than by taking out the arrow lodged in its shoulder?

He sidled carefully towards the beast, not wanting to alert it in any way. Lu Han’s face immediately darkened as he worried to no end. He mouthed and whispered for Minseok to come back, but there was no stopping the cultivator at that point.

Just as Minseok stepped right in front of the wolverine, the beast snapped its head and nearly gnawed an arm off as Minseok grabbed at the arrow in his shoulder. He yanked it out despite the obvious indications not to.

“I did not ask you to take that out!” The beast nearly roared, pushing the cultivator back a few feet.

“And you also didn’t ask for me to shoot you. I figured if you wanted to harm me, you would have done so already. But you have some sort of connection to Lu Han, and I don’t think he would let you.” Minseok wiped off his arrow with a handkerchief in his pouch and placed it back in its quiver.

The beast simply stared at Minseok, its menacing eyes giving off quite the look of wonder. “What is wrong with this guy?” It craned its neck around Minseok to look at Lu Han.

Lu Han just shrugged. “He’s the main reason why we came to you. A small mouse said I could find someone here who may know a thing a two about his situation.”

The wolverine was silent for a good moment before turning its head away again and saying, “You’ve found the wrong person. I don’t have time to deal with you petty creatures.”

“Time? What time could you possibly be using right now? You would rather rest on the ground and lounge than answer a few questions?” Minseok pressed, not wanting to back away.

The wolverine closed its eyes and continued to ignore them.

Minseok’s eyebrow twitched. How discourteous did one have to be to not even excuse themselves from the conversation?

“If you can speak, then that means someone must have taught you. Why is it that you are so rude?” Minseok asked with a flare of annoyance to his tone.

The wolverine rose from its spot, standing large enough to meet Minseok’s stomach height. “I tire of your whining, human. It is no concern of mine whether you fix your problem or not. Now leave. I am still a wild animal at heart—my patience is not as lasting as yours.”

The wolverine turned its back and hopped onto the trunk of the tree, climbing it with efficient pulls to perch on one of the branches.

Minseok huffed, nearly stomping a foot as he walked away from the tree. As Minseok brooded to himself and sat on the ground to think, Lu Han took initiative and walked up to the base of the tree.

“Great friend,” Lu Han called to the beast above. “It would seem I have offended you at some point in time. Would an apology be accepted if I were to make one?”

The beast did not respond, simply shifting to make itself comfortable on its branch.

“I know you are familiar. Those commands came very natural, I’ve said them before… Maybe many times before.”

Minseok still brooded in his corner but made sure to listen.

“Friend—” Lu Han started.

“You do not have the right to call me friend,” The beast spat.

“Then give me something to call you. Maybe it’ll help my memory?”

“…Bei Xiong.”

“Bei Xiong…” Lu Han muttered the words on his lips. “It’s not unfamiliar.. Bei Xiong.. I have heard that name before..” Lu Han looked down and touched his bottom lip as he spoke. But as he thought about it to himself, a pair of two slender legs hopped down in front of him. Shocked by the sudden human legs, he slowly looked up to meet a naked man, well-endowed and strongly built. His hair was a beautiful dark brown as the ends flared into the silver color of his coat. It was long and beautiful. His eyes were narrow but spoke more than a thousand words, aggressive yet curious all at the same time.

“That name should not just sound familiar. It should be ingrained in your body, it should be automatic on your lips.” As the man spoke, he took slow steps forward, as if stalking his pray.

This voice was not nearly as rough as the beast’s, but Lu Han knew this was still the same wolverine as before.

“No matter how you have forgotten me, it should not be forgotten from your body.”

Minseok listened closely to their conversation. It was thoroughly confusing, but enough to make him turn over his shoulder and peek at the two. What he saw was a tall naked man leaned over slightly with his face against Lu Han’s. Lu Han’s back was facing him perfectly so it was difficult to tell what they were doing, but he was almost sure that the two were… kissing!

Minseok got up immediately, he unsheathed his sword and was about ready to launch an attack when Lu Han brought his hands up on his own. He relaxed, slightly remembering that Lu Han could probably more than take care of himself. But when the demon did not attack the naked man, Minseok’s head tilted in confusion. Instead, Lu Han’s arms went up and wrapped themselves around Bei Xiong’s neck.

Minseok’s mouth dropped once he realized what was going on. Not even a man and woman were bold enough to do such acts in public.

The two were like that for a good while, Bei Xiong seemed rough and used his hands to poke and prod at Lu Han’s arms and feel his face and run his hands all over his hair. Minseok had to cough awkwardly for the two of them to break away.

Bei Xiong let the kiss end and craned his neck to glare at Minseok. Minseok, feeling absolutely offended, grimaced.

Lu Han panted for a moment, his eyes still closed but now with a finger lingering on his lips. These feelings were more than familiar, nostalgic even.

“You still do not remember me, do you?” Bei Xiong asked with a solemn look, a look neither demon nor cultivator thought possible with the amount of aggression he presumed.

“I…” Lu Han stuttered breathily. “I-I… I know it’s familiar.”

The naked man looked away, his face immediately changing into something so angry and so… complex that even Minseok felt for him.

“Then why come here?! After all this time?! Five hundred years! _Five hundred!_ You do not know me, but you need me!” Bei Xiong exploded.

Lu Han quickly rested his hands on the man’s arms, hoping that the touch would console him. “Bei Xiong, I don’t remember what relationship we had in the past, or who I even was… I remember nothing. But even so, that won’t stop you from being so hurt. And I am sorry.”

Bei Xiong seemed to calm down with this, but the frown on his face stayed prominent. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Lu Han’s. “I thought you left me here.. I thought you had deserted me for the rest of my life in this god-forsaken place. Never to leave…”

“No… I don’t think I could ever do that… Maybe my past self _did_ and I chose to forget, but I’ve been here for five hundred years as well. I’ve been in the islands below, taking spirits to the hall at the very bottom of this place.”

“So there is an end? I’ve been here stuck on this island for so long I didn’t think anything existed beyond it besides the birds that come and go.. I cannot leave this place. A barrier keeps me in and I am unable to move around… All this time… All this time!” Bei Xiong sucked in a sharp breath of air. “All this time,” he whispered. “You’ve been here, under my keen nose and I never knew..”

“Yes. And now, I want to leave. And I think I have something that can help me, something that can help my memories.” Lu Han broke away and turned towards Minseok.

Minseok stiffened and his cheeks turned bright red, he looked away quickly (having been intrigued by both their conversation and their intimacy). He had felt like a minor character for just a short moment, as if he never mattered to them in the first place.

Bei Xiong snarled, baring large canines at him and tucking Lu Han away in his arms. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“He is from across the sea!” Lu Han exclaimed, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Across the sea? I didn’t realize cultivation was popular so far south. What is he doing this far away?” Bei Xiong asked Lu Han.

Lu Han simply shrugged.

“I can hear you, you know? Believe it or not, you’re closer to my home than yours. We’ve been influenced by your culture for thousands of years; naturally, we would pick up on cultivation. My name is Kim Minseok, Leader of the Hwarang, courtesy name Jin Xiumin as bestowed by the Lanling Jin Sect.”

“Lanling Jin?” Lu Han muttered, “why is that so familiar?”

“Kim Minseok? Alright then.. What’s wrong with you? Why do you… look and smell like that?” Bei Xiong asked as he gave a rather judgmental once over.

“That’s what we came here to ask and see if you knew. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m dead, for all I know.”

Lu Han mumbled to himself as he stayed tucked away in Bei Xiong’s arms, something about being able to call him Minseok and why he didn’t have Bei Xiong call him that.

Bei Xiong let Lu Han go and stalked his way towards Minseok. Transforming into the massive wolverine before them, he used his excellent nose to sniff him thoroughly. He circled once, sniffing the air around him, he circled twice—getting more personal; sniffing under his robes, prodding his legs and even standing on his hind legs and placing his giant bear-like paws on Minseok’s shoulders to sniff his face.

In front of him again, he transformed into a tall naked human, nearly towering over Minseok. Bei Xiong grabbed the locks of hair that laid by the sides of his ears and brought them to his nose to take a particularly deep breath.

“Are you quite finished?” Minseok glared.

Bei Xiong let the hair strands drop, as if he had offended Minseok and Minseok had offended him.

“You are right. You are dead.” Bei Xiong commented before walking back towards Lu Han. His eyes never left Lu Han’s, yet he spoke to Minseok as if he meant nothing.

Minseok rolled his eyes. That much was clear.

“But you are also… not.” Bei Xiong stood behind Lu Han and wrapped his arms over his shoulders. “Most of your spirit and essence is here. But in your physical body, a piece of you lingers. Something is grabbing ahold of you and pulling you back.”

“It feels like an emotion,” Lu Han added.

“Yes, something very powerful is keeping you in both worlds. You are being pulled in two different directions. However, it feels like three parts of four are here while a fourth is there. Whatever keeps you there is much stronger than here.”

Lu han turned in Bei Xiong’s arms. “But you feel it, too? He is definitely alive and dead at the same time?”

“Whether or not his body is alive I can’t tell. But he is definitely in two places at once. That much I can sense. A powerful cultivator in your past life must have loved you very much.” Bei Xiong’s eyes flickered, as if he understood those emotions very well, a sort of warmth spreading through them.

“Then can you help me become whole?” Minseok stepped forward, a glint of hope raising his spirits. But as he stepped forward, his body froze and lit up in that unnatural pain. His vision split in two and hazed out as his body phased. He dropped to one knee and held in the screams that desperately wanted to come out.

Lu Han rushed over as Minseok’s vision failed him even further. This time it darkened, from the edges to the center, everything went black.

“Minseok!”

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 _The long night,_ _  
_ _Melts away any hatred we had,_ _  
_ _Isn't that enough? I'll be better._  
_Stars are raining down, their lights shining on you._ _  
Don't go too far, because I'm here…_

From a heavenly voice came the lyrics of an old and familiar song. Like a mellow wind on a spring day, the voice became clearer and clearer. It was a tender and loving voice, so full of life and love that it could only draw Minseok near.

He knew this song, he knew he had heard it before. But from where? Everything was still pitch black so he couldn’t see the hands in front of his face. Even if he could not see, his body still moved, one foot very cleanly after the other on some sort of smooth surface. Pain was still present, it hammered on his body like an illness, but he couldn’t control why he was moving.

The song turned gradually into a hum, even more beautiful than before. It was like velvet, vibrating so purely in the man’s voice. Minseok quite liked it, he just could not for the life of him remember where he had heard it before.

As if out of some sort of sheer will, Minseok’s eyes fluttered slowly open. The bright light of a room engulfed his vision. He covered his eyes with a hand and allowed them to adjust.

In front of him was the very figure from before, seated in the lotus position, black hair draped over his ghostly white face.

“Kim… Jongdae..” he said breathily. The humming stopped immediately.

The voice was clear, no longer muffled as he stared at Jongdae seated on top of a rock. The rock was new, it was not there before.

As Minseok took in those traits, he looked up at Jongdae’s face only to find him staring directly at him. Minseok froze at this and called out to him again, “K-Kim Jongdae? What are you doing?”

There was no response.

Minseok walked on forward and called his name again, wondering if he did not hear it. But as he walked, he noticed how Jongdae’s eyes stayed focused on one particular spot. Minseok moved to the left and Jongdae’s eyes did not follow, he moved to the right and the same occurred.

Minseok furrowed his brows and walked up to Jongdae, waving a hand furiously in front of him.

“What in this good world is going on…” he muttered before reaching a hand out to touch Jongdae’s shoulder. Just as he made contact, the image shattered like thousands of pieces of porcelain. They all fell into a black abyss and somehow made it feel like the pieces of sharp porcelain had cut Minseok’s very body. The pain raged on, this time enough to cause screams of unease.

_Kim Minseok!_

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Minseok woke up with that lingering pain in his limbs, not as intense but unfortunate enough. Above his head were branches of white pine and the trunk of a crookedly shaped tree. He looked down and found his body covered with Lu Han’s outer robe.

Minseok went to sit up, but his body flinched with pain and a heavy weight kept him down.

“I wouldn’t move so much if I were you.” Bei Xiong’s voice came from above.

Minseok looked up and found the wolverine camouflaged amongst the branches.

Minseok took Lu Han’s robe off and immediately found a hoard of small creatures nestled against him. Some of them scurried off with their bright blue tails in tow while others snuggled even closer, not wanting to be disturbed.

“They helped,” Bei Xiong said as he jumped down beside him.

Minseok gave him an incredulous look. “They aren’t afraid of you?”

“Not nearly as much as they are of you.”

“But don’t you eat them?”

“No… I haven’t needed to eat in a very long time,” Bei Xiong said in a low voice.

Minseok went to sit up with the help of Bei Xiong. Of course Bei Xiong slipped in the small comment of how Minseok shouldn’t have moved because he would disturb the animals, meaning it wasn’t because he was concerned for _Minseok’s_ well-being.

“Where is Lu Han?” Minseok asked as he cupped a few small mice in his hands to keep them from tumbling down his chest. The few animals that remained were like weasels and rabbits, a bright blue snake had even wrapped itself on his inner thigh. They all stretched and changed their positions once Minseok had rested his back against the base of the trunk.

“He went ahead, keeping an eye out for that fellow, Jung Kai.” Bei Xiong sat beside him, his voice sounding… unhappy with the name.

“You know him?”

“I remember him… Years ago. We had run into one another, before this world ever existed. Before any of this had happened.”

“Does Lu Han not remember?”

“He wasn’t there for it.”

“What… relationship did you two have before?”

Bei Xiong was silent for a moment, thinking of the best way to go about it.

“I don’t want to tell you. Not until he remembers.”

Minseok nodded, albeit in annoyance, as he let one of his thumbs stroke the back of one of the mice.

“Lu Han told me that you get these bouts often. They seem to be erratic, and you usually faint.”

“Ah.. Yes. That usually seems to be the case.”

“Kim Minseok, a little while after you faint, you disappear.”

Minseok’s body froze.

What in the heavens did that even mean?

“What do you mean, disappear?”

“You, what I see now, disappears. You fade away like a soul returning to somewhere.” Bei Xiong picked up one of the weasels and rested it in his lap. “I’m assuming that it’s because the pull between words is strong enough to pull you through for a short moment. Something is interfering.”

Minseok’s face could only contort in confusion as he listened.

“You come asking for my help. For Lu Han’s sake I will. And these are my thoughts. The interference between worlds must be broken.”

“…But what _is_ the interference?”

“My guess would be this world. You must cut off your connection to this world. It’s the only possibility I can think of. Unless there are other elements at play that I cannot sense.”

Minseok looked off into the distance, his brows so tightly knit one would think they would fall right off. How on earth was he supposed to do that? If he only did this for Lu Han’s sake, what solace awaited him in the mortal realm? He was dead after all, he would just be a wandering spirit on the other side. There were too many unanswered questions and it only frustrated him further.

“How much longer do you think Lu Han will be?” Minseok asked with firm interest.

Bei Xiong took a moment before responding. “He should have been back a little while ago. It’s almost nightfall. You’ve been asleep for some hours now.”

Minseok’s brows furrowed again. Hours? Why so long this time? But more importantly, where is Lu Han?

Bei Xiong stood to his feet and set down the weasel that had been resting in his lap.

“Something isn’t right.” His nose went off, sniffing furiously at the air. He stepped forward and quickly turned into that four-legged beast. “We’re not alone.”

Suddenly, the bushes ahead of them rustled. They both turned towards that direction and the animals all scrambled away.

“There you are.” 

They turned their heads in the opposite direction of the rustling bushes and found a tall and scraggly looking man. Jung Kai’s face showed a smile of deceit, the anger and twisted thoughts behind it could clearly be seen. Even though he possessed such a wicked expression, Minseok would prefer that than having to look at Bei Xiong’s fearsome face anytime.

“My boss has told me plenty of you.” Jung Kai stepped forward. His arms were pitch black with long, gruesome claws and he held a whip in his right hand.

At the same time, out of the rustling bushes emerged a haggard Lu Han. His hair was in disarray and covered in various twigs and leaves. A few scratches marked his chest through his under robes and his cheeks sported a few nasty gashes.

 _“Minseok! Run!”_ Lu Han shouted with all his might.

Minseok stood to his feet with almost no trouble and grabbed Lu Han’s outer robe.

Bei Xiong, without a second’s thought, charged for Jung Kai. Jung Kai readied his whip and the two clashed with a thunderous roar, both demon and beast at each other’s throats.

“Take Lu Han. And _go!”_ Bei Xiong shouted over the scuffle, having the upper hand in shoving Jung Kai down onto the ground. The force would have been enough to break Minseok’s ribcage if it were him beneath the wolverine’s mighty paw.

Without another thought to the madness, Minseok dashed for the horrified Lu Han and threw his outer robe over his shoulders before grabbing his waist and running for the cliff edge furthest from the fight.

Jung Kai somehow broke free from the jaws that furiously tried to tear his neck apart. Bei Xiong was tossed to the side and Jung Kai flipped up to his feet. He ran after the two retreating figures with a grunt and lashed out his whip at the very cusp of being able to reach them.

But his whip was just short. Minseok jumped with Lu Han in his arms and fell over the side of the island. With the swift movement of a hand sign, his sword flew out of its scabbard and caught itself under Minseok’s feet and whisked the two away at high speed.

Minseok did not bother to look back. He could only focus on getting Lu Han and himself as far as possible from there. To make sure he lost Jung Kai for a good while thinking of a new plan.

Especially now that for some reason, Jung Kai had killing intent on Minseok’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha h a h...a yeah oc x lu han wasn't intended yet here we are
> 
> bei xiong was kinda inspired by mobei jun from svsss, but there's no one i have in mind for actual looks :(
> 
> also the song I used was love words from April and a flower album :)


	5. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence

“How many times have I told you? We can’t go back, Lu Han!”

The two had returned to the small camp by the creek. The embers were out and night had fallen.

“But we have to! Bei Xiong he!! He!!” Lu Han’s voice faltered with high panic, seeming like he could almost break down and cry.

“You don’t even remember the poor beast! You’ve hurt him in more ways than one, why would he want to see you again?!”

“Stop that! You stop that this instant…” Lu Han’s voice fell at the end and he fell to the ground in the most helpless of manners. “He needs me… I know he does… I… I need him…”

Minseok rolled his eyes.

“When you figure your memories out, then that’s when you can say you need him.” Minseok walked over to the downed demon and tried to scoop him up from under his arms. Lu Han did not comply and just sat there, wallowing.

While Minseok tried to get the demon up, he could swear he felt light tremors on the ground.

“I can’t stand this… I can’t stand not knowing anything! I can’t stand not remembering who I was! Why did I forget him? Why did I abandon him? Why did I love that…kiss?” Lu Han shrugged Minseok off and pressed his palms into his eyes, the frustration eating away at his mind.

Minseok stepped back and could feel the ground more clearly. He had felt correctly—the ground was indeed shaking.

A sudden wave of birds that had been sleeping away in the trees flew off. Flowers opened up and the field mice that had been inside scurried away. The island began to shake more and more with each passing second.

Minseok stood his ground firmly, watching his surroundings with the utmost caution. He nearly drew his sword for fear of the ground cracking in half below them—after all, these were floating islands.

It lasted for a good while, but Lu Han seemed unphased by it, even as the tremors stopped.

Lu Han wiped his nose and sniffed loudly before his hands fell to the ground. A long sigh left his lips after that and made Minseok look over with an incredulous look.

“..Does that.. happen often?”

Lu Han shook his head. “No, but it’s happened before. Nothing bad ever comes of them.”

“Okay.. Are we safe here, then?”

“For now. I don’t know if Jung Kai followed us. I hope he did. I don’t want anything bad to happen to Bei Xiong..”

Minseok’s face darkened at that statement. If Jung Kai followed them then they would be stuck having to deal with that demon!

Despite those apprehensive thoughts, Minseok was curious why Jung Kai had shown an interest in him. Whoever this boss was, he knew who Minseok was, and that was not an encouraging thought.

“I just want my memories back… Is that so much to ask for..?”

Minseok sidled up beside Lu Han and sat next to him. “And I just want to figure out how to become whole again,” he sighed out exasperatedly.

Lu Han looked over at Minseok, his brows furrowed with a couple different complex emotions, but the most prominent was sorrow.

“..We both,” Lu Han started. “We both have obstacles to overcome.”

A light gust of wind drew by the two of them, and for a moment Minseok could feel it. It was cool and almost.. refreshing.

Minseok nodded.

“Then why am I over here sulking? It’s not like you have time to worry about my problems when you have your own.”

Minseok cleared his throat, although Lu Han was correct, it still didn’t mean he had to be.

“We both have problems of our own. That doesn’t mean we have to ignore those of the other.” He cleared his throat again, he was feeling rather… embarrassed of his honesty. “I would be willing to help you find your memories, if you help me become whole.”

Lu Han looked back at Minseok with utter surprise.

“…How can you help me get my memories back?”

“Something doesn’t add up here. I feel like your memories have been taken from you, Lu Han.”

The demon tilted his head. The light wind blew at the soft tuffs of black hair in his face, creating a sense of innocence more so than usual about him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I think it’s more than chance that because you’ve been here for so long, you’ve lost your memories. You remember that you want to escape, but you don’t know why. Jung Kai wasn’t always here, and yet he has a duty to tend to spirits below. Not to mention, he is working for someone. I bet this person he’s working for would know a thing or two.”

“But…” Lu Han trailed off. “But that means we would have to confront Jung Kai, wouldn’t it?”

“If we wanted to get to who he works for, then yes.”

“How on earth do you think we can even attempt that? Jung Kai possesses much more brute strength than I do. I’ve never dared to openly defy him because I know I’d lose!” Lu Han shrieked.

Minseok shushed his voice. It may have been windy but that didn’t mean Jung Kai couldn’t still hear them. “I don’t know yet. But I have a hunch.” 

Minseok reached around and pulled his bow out. The golden color of its base and the beautifully intricate design of the mugunghwa flower in pinks and green gave it an overly delicate visage. “I do not have much power here, but I can create a binding net specific to demons with this. One shot of an arrow and he will be encased in the net.” Minseok thought for another second. “I doubt it will be strong enough to hold him for long, but that’s when you can use your needles. Prick him to paralyze but not enough so that he can’t talk. Then I’ll go in and use my spiritual power to enter his mind—to make sure he’s telling the truth as we question him.”

“This… This sounds too easy. It’s not going to work so simply.” Lu Han said with melancholy.

“It won’t be easy. Shooting the arrow at him is the most crucial part. I’ll only have about two good arrows to net him with before everything else is too weak to hold him for more than a few seconds. But the moment he’s captured, that’s where you’re crucially needed to come right in. The net will not last long.”

“But… What if this doesn’t work? What if the net breaks sooner than you anticipate?”

“…Then I hit him with all I have. He has to be detained enough for you to get through to him.”

Lu Han hung his head in silence, Minseok used the silence to think carefully about the situation. This was not going to be an easy task. But as he thought to himself, his head grew heavy and his eyelids fluttered with the sudden onset of sleepiness. Not fighting against it, Minseok let his body fall into slumber once more.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Minseok woke with a racing heart. The same dream as the night before where he was enclosed in the cramped rock space had occurred. But Kim Jongdae was not there to take him out, he was left alone to the sounds of screams and fighting occurring all around. Not knowing if anyone would come for him and start attacking made his anxiety go through the roof, so Minseok sat the dream out with his head buried in his lap and hands covering his ears.

“Minseok!” Lu Han’s voice shouted.

Night hadn’t quite let up yet. It was still dark, but the fog was light.

Minseok’s head snapped in the demon’s direction only to find him kneeling on the ground with his hair held in Jung Kai’s grip.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever wake up! This brat has been calling your name forever now.” Jung Kai shook Lu Han unkindly. It made Lu Han wince with the pain.

Minseok rolled backward and kept himself low to the ground, ready for any possible attack.

“Look at this place.. Is this where you would run off to and shirk your duties?” Jung Kai raised Lu Han enough to scowl in his face. One would think Lu Han’s hair would fall out with the way he was yanking him about.

Minseok went to reach behind his back for his bow, but as he searched for it there was nothing. Not even his quiver was on his back. He looked over the area quickly to see if he had misplaced it, but the bow really wasn’t to be found.

“Looking for that pretty bow of yours? I wouldn’t be surprised if you dropped it over the ledge,” Jung Kai laughed.

“What did you do with it?” Minseok spoke through gritted teach.

Jung Kai snickered, “I didn’t do anything with it. It was gone when I came here.”

With his bow missing, Minseok instead drew his sword. He went to slash with it in the hopes to send a force strong enough to make the two demons go flying backwards and free Lu Han, but as he swung, his arm was caught in a painfully firm hold.

He turned over his shoulder to find two expressionless eyes staring at him. Long claws, hair pulled back in a thick ponytail, and glowing green eyes that were both large and narrow. He was quite attractive; minus the semi-threatening feeling he gave off.

Minseok held a sign with his index and middle finger of his free hand and punched it into the stranger’s chest.

The other went skidding back, kicking up dirt with him while he held his chest. He shot a glance back at Minseok and ran back for him, almost as if the spiritual hit hadn’t affected him at all.

Minseok sucked his teeth at the failure and began to run from this new demon. Without a second’s thought, he readied Gwangseon and sent out a blasting force of air towards Jung Kai and Lu Han. The two flew back, high and far, causing Jung Kai to release the smaller demon and hit the ground with a stony ricochet. Lu Han managed fine with the impact and steadied himself as soon as Minseok grabbed one of his arms and helped him up.

“Minseok, I’m sorry. I fell asleep and I didn’t expect him to find us, I—”

“Not now!” Minseok cut him off and focused on the two demons. Jung Kai was coming at them from the side, his whip ready and hands black and putrid. The other was out of sight, stalking them from somewhere within the bamboo.

Just as Minseok was about to block Jung Kai’s raging whip attack, he felt the presence of another coming down at them from behind. Minseok shoved Lu Han away from both directions. Jung Kai’s whip wrapped precisely around Minseok’s neck while the other demon toppled on top of him and held his arms to his back.

With his mouth pressed into the dirt, Minseok struggled to breathe properly. The heavy weight on his chest was immobilizing and the dirt felt disgusting.

A sickening laugh came from Jung Kai as he stepped right in front of Minseok’s struggling head. “Well, well, well. Excellent job, Zitao. Maybe he wasn’t wrong to send you after all,” Jung Kai said to the other demon as he put his hands on his hips. “Now.. What to do.. What to do..” He feigned an innocent voice. “You should have died a while ago. And yet here you are. Partially alive and causing me trouble.” Jung Kai squatted down to his face as close as he could to Minseok’s. “I don’t even know you. Why I have to waste my time baby sitting _and_ doing henchman work is beyond me. A job like this should have been left to the likes of you.” He motioned toward Zitao.

It was clearly an offensive remark, but if it upset Zitao he showed none of it.

“Now.” Jung Kai pulled his whip taut and raised Minseok’s head. “Let’s dispose of you, shall we?”

Minseok couldn’t see what it truly was, but a flash of black whooshed overtop his head and Zitao stumbled backwards. His face contorted with frustration and pain and his body betrayed him against what he wanted it to do.

“What?!” Jung Kai let Minseok’s head drop and focused on what had happened. But before he could even react, another great flash of black shoved him to the ground, this time with a roar and snarl of large canine teeth.

Minseok coughed furiously and wiped his face clean of the dirt. As he righted himself, he watched as Lu Han stood off with Zitao and Bei Xiong bit and tore at Jung Kai’s chest.

It took a solid moment for Minseok to compose himself, but as he finally came around, he watched Zitao do something remarkable. He was able to overcome Lu Han’s acupuncture needle. What should have blocked off meridians and paralyzed his mobility quickly left his body. Zitao dropped to all fours and shimmied his shoulders slowly—the needle had been lodged in his shoulder blades. He stalked forward like a wild predator cornering its prey. The more he moved his shoulders, the more mobility he was granted, and eventually he reached behind himself with incredible flexibility and pulled the needle out.

Both Lu Han and Minseok were horrified by the encounter.

Zitao shot up into the sky, twirling over and heading back down with a raging hand of claws extended at Lu Han. Minseok dashed forward and thrust his sword to block the attack. It was successful until Bei Xiong’s body went crashing into Minseok’s.

Bei Xiong let out a few grunts of pain as he tried to get up. Minseok could smell the large amount of blood coming off of him, whether it was his or Jung Kai’s was another mystery.

In a fury, Jung Kai stood up. His face firmed and his nostrils flared with anger. “No! This is not how this is supposed to go.” 

Zitao grabbed hold of Lu Han again, as he was quite distracted with Bei Xiong and Minseok’s encounter. Jung Kai stormed over to the two struggling on the ground, his eyes glaring with all the rage he was emitting. He kicked Bei Xiong and the wolverine flopped over with ease, releasing another grunt as he did so. 

“ _You_.” He grabbed Minseok by the hair, allowing his nasty claws to cut his forehead as he yanked him partially from the ground. “You were supposed to die without trouble. No running. No defiance. Just plain and simple killing.” He jerked Minseok around harshly and began to drag him down a path through the forest.

“Stop! Where are you—!!” Lu Han tried to yell but Zitao covered his mouth and pulled him along as well.

Minseok struggled for a moment but Jung Kai punched him in his chest, driving the air from his lungs. Jung Kai had succeeded in disorienting him, sending a blow full of his demonic powers to mess with his already-messy meridians.

At the edge of the island he stood, holding Minseok’s head directly over empty space. “Now. I’m going to drop you. And you’re going to fall until you hit the barrier, and then you incinerate into a blinding mess of nothing. You’ll never reincarnate, you’ll never see your friends again. You’ll perish into nothing and stay out of my hair.”

With dazed eyes, Minseok looked up at Jung Kai and held onto the wrist that was grabbing his arm.

“But why…” His voice came out weak. “Why…”

“Speak up!” Jung Kai jerked him again.

Minseok could hardly manage to say anything more and simply brought his eye line toward Lu Han and Zitao.

Jung Kai followed it and laughed to himself. “What? Worried about him? Hah. Don’t you worry about him, he’s going to be alive for a very long time. And when you’re dead, he’ll forget you even ever existed. And when I take care of that damned rodent once and for all, he’ll never have to worry about wanting to leave here again. Isn’t that right, Lulu?” The way he called out Lu Han’s name felt derogatory.

“What?” Lu Han said almost as a whisper. His horrified expression only seemed to get worse.

“Shut it! I’ve had enough of you. I tolerate you sneaking off and not sending over spirits right away. What I can’t tolerate is how important you are to the master and how nothing can ever happen to you. One little mishap and this place rumbles like the bowels of a bull. The moment something like this happens, I have to clean it up and make it seem like nothing ever happened. You know how much of a pain that is?”

As Jung Kai spoke, he seemed to get angrier and angrier. He tossed Minseok to the side, forgetting to toss him over the edge for now. “And you know what?” He stormed towards Lu Han and ripped him from Zitao’s grip. “What Master doesn’t know won’t kill him. You’ll forget all about this.” Jung Kai raised a fist and slammed it against Lu Han’s cheek.

Punch after punch he released, bruising Lu Han’s perfectly porcelain face like nothing.

“When my master has taken all the spirits he needs and we don’t need you for this world anymore—I’m coming for you. I’m going to rip you limb from limb, you pompous, self-righteous, pathetic, cultivator!”

Zitao simply watched as Jung Kai pounded on Lu Han, his face not indicating any kind of emotions that might lay below the surface.

Not even when a very naked and slightly taller man walked up behind Jung Kai did Zitao make a move. Bei Xiong was much broader than Jung Kai. He was built like a freight train, overbearing and lean. Each muscle looked extra defined in the odd blue glow of the realm’s night, or maybe it had to do with the overly murderous aura he currently possessed, accentuating the weapon that his body very well was.

He grabbed Jung Kai’s fist before it could land another blow. His grip was unkind, cracking bones as he pulled it back and tightened on the hand. Jung Kai’s face contorted with the pain.

“I’m a weasel. Not a rodent. Ten times more agile—” He lifted Jung Kai with a swift movement and he let Lu Han go. “And a hundred times fiercer.” He brought Jung Kai’s head down onto the ground, making it so half his body was submerged in the earth.

Jung Kai was stunned for a moment. Eventually, he flopped over and struggled, kicking his legs and wiggling his arms furiously to extract himself.

Bei Xiong caught Lu Han in his arms, cradling him tenderly and nearly forgetting about everything else in the world. Lu Han’s face was so swollen and bloodied that a few whimpers came from Bei Xiong’s naked form.

Gently, Bei Xiong settled down, resting Lu Han against his chest. He couldn’t even tell if Lu Han was out cold or just barely hanging onto consciousness. They stayed huddled on the ground, Bei Xiong sending him spiritual energy to help his body heal.

But as Minseok stood to his feet once more and was able to dispel the demonic energy in his chest, he watched as Jung Kai removed himself from the ground. His insidious nature radiated all around his body. Immediately, Bei Xiong placed Lu Han gently on the ground and jumped to his feet, standing off with Minseok against Jung Kai.

“You’ve really… pushed me to my limit,” Jung Kai said as his voice faltered in a weird inhuman way. His teeth grew large, his eyes ripped open into large black slits, sending off black flames at the outer corners. His hair began to float around and the black on his arms reached all over his body. He looked like a monster that carried death and plague wherever it went. A low inhuman roar left his mouth of sharp white fangs.

The hair on Minseok’s nape stood up. This was another shifting demon, one that could take another form like Lu Han and Bei Xiong. They were rare in the mortal world, yet here in this spiritual realm they seemed to be everywhere. Gritting his teeth, Minseok stood his ground, holding tightly to his sword. Bei Xiong shifted into the wolverine and roared back at the demon.

Without another moment’s pause, Bei Xiong and Jung Kai charged for one another. Minseok took that as his chance and stood in front of Lu Han, remembering that Zitao was still present. But Zitao just stood in his spot, watching as the scene unfolded and still bearing no outward expression.

Suddenly, Minseok felt someone’s attack coming for him. He was unable to block it fully and was quickly crushed by Jung Kai’s strong arm. He seemed to bypass Bei Xiong altogether, as if his original target was Minseok all along.

Minseok screamed as his ribs were crushed. It was a weird sensation, knowing that his body was not necessarily physical, but it felt as if Jung Kai reached out and touched something deeper, breaking into his physical form; as if he could see through the spiritual essence and reach through. With all his might, Minseok raised his arm in burning pain and brought it down on Jung Kai’s head, stabbing the demon right through the eye with Gwangseon.

He was dropped, but Jung Kai let out inhuman squeals of pain and thrashed around, not caring for where he stepped. Lu Han’s body got caught up in the mess, and as the two were dangerously close to the edge, they both fell.

It all happened slowly, their fall and Bei Xiong scrambling as fast as he could to the side to rescue Lu Han. Minseok crawled to the side and watched as they fell into the misty darkness. All the hopelessness he had ever felt in his life had compiled itself into one moment and he closed his eyes. He regretted every fiber in his body for not making a different choice, and hoped desperately that he would live.

Zitao jumped over the side as well, following the two as soon as they could no longer be seen.

Bei Xiong paced back and forth, crying and whimpering in panic, his giant bear-like paws stepping over and around Minseok’s weakened form.

But as Minseok closed his eyes, his body began to ripple in pain. It was like the pain he had experienced randomly before, but this time it was intensified beyond imagination. He could feel it. He could feel his spiritual body being pulled somewhere. Like taffy stretching far over its intended amount.

Through all the suffering and the screaming, everything finally went black and he couldn’t hear, see, or feel anything.


	6. 5

Pain and darkness; they were not strangers at this point. Loneliness, and gloom; unwanted but still present.

Minseok walked, and he walked, and he walked. He couldn’t see anything, like a shroud was veiling his eyesight, yet he could feel his legs moving one after the other.

Labored breaths left his lips, but he couldn’t hear them. He could hear nothing but white noise, not even the patter of his footsteps on whatever he walked on.

Then a familiar scent suddenly came to him. He wanted to stop walking just to take a deep breath and remind himself of what the smell was, but all he could do was breathe it in and walk forward unwillingly. The scent was of a kind of perfume, a flowery perfume of peony, maybe a hint of jasmine. Minseok could feel his heart flutter at the scent, he had always particularly liked this scent, no matter how much he detested the person who wore it.

Kim Jongdae. It was the scent of his sachet case, a scent that signified him and him alone. 

Suddenly, Minseok’s eyes began to flutter against a bright light. It was the same white-ish light as before, so he knew what to expect once his eyes adjusted.

And of course, there seated on top of a rock was Kim Jongdae. His white undergarment robes were in disarray and his hair was quite messy. Minseok had never seen him so… disheveled before. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed or brushed for weeks. And the little bits of pale skin that glistened through his dark hair seemed whiter than usual.

Minseok walked forward, wanting to get a better look at him.

“Kim Jongdae..” he whispered, knowing that for some reason when he whispered Jongdae would react. But there was no reaction this time.

Instead, a faint and hoarse hum left Jongdae’s lips.

“..Stars are raining down… Their lights shining on you.”

Minseok had heard this song before. Jongdae was singing it last time he was in this dreamscape. Before that, Minseok had heard it once before. It was accidental, but he had seen Kim Jongdae bathing under the light of a full moon. The glistening water sparkled against his skin and almost made him look like he belonged to the heavens. Not once, but twice this had happened. This was during the second time. The first.. was... Well, it was more intense.

“Oh, Jongdae…” Minseok muttered, not knowing what to do with himself.

With those words, Jongdae’s head shot up and he stared Minseok dead in the face. His dark eyes were glazed over with exhaustion, his cheeks seemed thinner than usual and the dark circles under his eyes made him look almost like a walking corpse.

Minseok took a step back. What on earth had happened to Jongdae? What was going on here?!

Minseok walked closer again, wanting to get a better inspection. But as he did so, Jongdae’s eyes followed his every move. Minseok paused again, frozen with the thought of Jongdae being able to see him.

“Can you… see me..?” Minseok asked carefully.

Jongdae’s eyes became steadily bloodshot, tears swelling without warning. His chapped and pale lips began to move, saying things that Minseok couldn’t hear in the slightest. He tried to read his lips, but it was just too difficult to understand. Jongdae had always talked with little mouth movements, and always with a slight smile on his face. But this time he seemed disturbed, like something had been haunting him for years.

Suddenly, a pounding came from below them. This scared the both of them and they jolted toward where the sound came from. Minseok looked below to the rocks that Jongdae had been sitting on top of. This time they seemed more intricate, as if they formed some sort of structure.

The pounding came again, thunderous and almost violent.

Jongdae hopped off the structure and stood so close to Minseok that his shoulder was nestled between Minseok’s own.

The top of the rocks blew off without warning, dust and smoke gathering as the rock fell somewhere out of sight. Jongdae grabbed ahold of Minseok’s arm tightly, as if to warn him or hold him back. But curiosity got the best of both of them, and they walked forward to see what was inside. The closer they got, the more they could see the opening and how pitch black it was.

Standing at its edge, the two leaned over, looking carefully into the dark abyss.

Minseok could see nothing, but he could hear it. He could hear the ringing of a small bell coming from within—a bell that beckoned him in.

Jongdae couldn’t hear it, but he could see it. The being—or rather, the essence—that took all spiritual beings.

Minseok felt compelled to dive into the cave, even though his heart slammed against his chest from the fact that it was a dark and cramped space inside. He couldn’t help himself, and took a step forward to fall in. But he was caught with a hand around his chest and another with slender fingers covering his eyes, tugging him back, far away from the ringing bell.

That pull resonated deep in Minseok’s chest.

A thump pressed against his chest and rang in his ears.

A gasp went into his lungs, hard and strained.

Another thump slammed against his ribcage and pounded against his ears.

Then another and another, faster and faster it pounded until it was a steady pace and Minseok was breathing, sweating and anxiously darting his eyes about a clean room.

He did not know this room, dark wooden beams in the ceiling, dark wooden floors, dark wooden columns separating the sections of the room. Around his bed were strings holding several yellow talismans all drawn in cinnabar. They swayed in some sort of breeze, fluttering about as if a great wind had just died down.

Minseok struggled to sit up. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, yet he felt so unbearably cold. His head fell back onto his pillow and he brought both hands up to feel his face. His body trembled with the movements, limbs stiff and aching. His head spun and he could feel sudden heat begin to rise in his face. There were so many things going on with his body, so many sensations, so many emotions that he didn’t know what to do with himself and just silently screamed. His hands did not leave his face, they were too fixated on the fact that he was able to touch, feeling soft supple skin, albeit damp and cold.

A weight at the end of the bed shifted. As he looked down, there was a person coming out of meditation, staring at him with wide and worried eyes. He threw his legs off the bed and quickly sat at the edge, eyes never leaving Minseok’s for a second.

There were no words spoken, just a trembling and frightened Minseok as the man grabbed one of his wrists and quickly began assessing the state of Minseok’s body.

His meridians were still a mess, they were all over the place, but most importantly they were weak. The spiritual essence that flowed in them was low, so he quickly made a sign with his fingers and pressed his palm against Minseok’s chest. A warmth immediately enveloped Minseok’s body as the man sent his spiritual energy over. It was so comforting and so warm that Minseok nearly wanted to pull the man down and hug him as close as possible.

“K-Kim.. Jongdae..” Minseok somehow managed through a voice that almost seemed inhuman with how dry his throat was.

“I’m here, don’t speak.” Jongdae hushed the prone man, knowing very well that he was going to need severe rest.

But how could Minseok rest with his body in such disorientation? He was shaking and the room was spinning—this was not natural!

Even as Jongdae gently took a strand of hair from Minseok’s face and tucked it back behind an ear, Minseok didn’t even have the strength to slap his hand away. Instead, his eyes fluttered, and his world went black once more.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Minseok woke much later that day. Night had already fallen, and the cool temperature of the growing winter had little effect on him. He already felt so much warmer than he had before he passed out. The room was no longer spinning so much, and he didn’t feel his chest pounding with every heartbeat. His body still felt a bit stiff, but that wasn’t so bad compared to before.

He looked around the room again. The faint scent of incense burning across the way wafted into his mind and helped clear his muddled thoughts. It was a neat and tidy room—too neat and too tidy. Although his memories were quite hazy before he died, he distinctly remembered going crazy over something and nearly wrecking nearly his whole room. This place looked nothing like that room—was he still in the spirit realm?

 _Another illusion? Is this real?_ He felt his face. Soft, supple skin was there, even tinged with a bit of warmth. He took a few deep breaths and sighed them out just to confirm he was feeling his lungs and diaphragm expand. He even bit one of his fingers to see if blood could be drawn; and to his surprise, it could. As he stared at the bleeding finger and thought about what had happened, a hand reached down and grabbed his wrist.

Minseok shot his head up to see his assailant and his face grew red with anger.

“Kim Jongdae!” he snapped. He was mostly upset that he hadn’t even noticed the man was in his presence, dressed in his green and white robes, half of his dark hair braided back and the rest flowing down his shoulders and bangs covering his forehead.

“Calm down, Minseok.” Jongdae’s soft voice resonated in the room, almost like he was casting some sort of lullaby with that mellifluous voice of his.

“Who gave you the right to call me Minseok?” He tried snatching his hand back but Jongdae’s grip tightened.

Jongdae simply ignored his outburst and sat on the edge of the bed again, tucking Minseok’s arm against his torso and taking a handkerchief to stop the bleeding finger. Minseok tugged and tugged but to no avail, Jongdae’s grasp was too firm. It didn’t take long before Minseok tired himself out and went limp.

After Jongdae finished wrapping a small bandage around Minseok’s finger and let his arm go, he cradled the back of his head into his hand and slowly laid the weak man down onto the bed. Jongdae brought the white sheet back up to his chest and patted it carefully before walking across the room to grab a tray of tea.

Minseok laid on the bed, his eyes half-lidded and staring blankly at the ceiling.

“How do you feel?” Jongdae asked in that calming voice of his.

“…I don’t know,” Minseok answered reluctantly.

“Then.. how is your spiritual flow?” Jongdae asked as he sat back down and grabbed Minseok’s wrist to check.

“…I don’t know,” he answered again.

They were silent while Jongdae checked him. Eventually, Jongdae spoke up and said, “That’s… not right.” 

His expression changed and became more serious as he lifted Minseok’s sleeve and felt higher up his arm. “I thought.. I thought that I couldn’t feel much because you were sleeping… but.. even now I still cannot feel much.. There is so little spiritual energy in you that you shouldn’t even be functioning right now.. I don’t understand, everything I did—”

Minseok suddenly shot up, his eyes wide with worry. “Lu Han! I have to go back!” He searched frantically around, ignoring everything coming out of Jongdae’s mouth. Not that he had been paying attention in the first place.

Jongdae was taken aback by the sudden outburst and blinked for a moment before pressing a hand against Minseok’s chest and gently saying, “Kim Minseok, you need to rest. There is no Lu Han here, please calm down.”

“No, he-he.. He fell! I-I have to go back and I have to find him! I have to save him!” Minseok spotted Jongdae’s sword, Cheongal, at his hip, and he quickly reached for it.

With the swish of the blade and glimmer of light, Minseok raised the sword and readied it to have it pierce through his own heart.

Not much sound was made, but Jongdae was quick with his movements and smacked his sword out of Minseok’s hand. They fought bare-handed for a good moment—it was mostly just Minseok fighting his way out of the bed to get the sword back. But he quickly lost stamina again and retreated into himself as Jongdae tightly held both his wrists .

“If you do not stop, I will sing you into paralysis!” Jongdae exclaimed. The Song of Paralysis; it sounded like any normal song, but if one listened too long, they would find their body frozen in place for at least an hour.. It was a forbidden art to use on sentient creatures, but it was no surprise that a cultivator as renowned as Kim Jongdae would know how to use it.

“But I can’t be here, I—!!”

“Please!” Jongdae’s face pleaded, “Just please..” His head hung over. “…Live,” he whispered oh so quietly.

Minseok was very confused by his body language, like he almost seemed drained of all purpose. But he was left little time to think when the sudden sound of socked footsteps pounded down the hall and through the doors into the room.

The paper doors flung open to the sides. In came a flustered, messy-haired man. His red robes were in disarray, as if he had just been blown away by strong gusts of wind.

It was silent as everyone assessed the situation. Eventually, Jongdae released his hold on Minseok and calmly got up. He saluted and bowed to the new person. 

“Young Master Jung.”

“Young Master Kim.” The man saluted and bowed back.

“I will take my leave and let the two of you talk, then.” Jongdae saluted one more time before placing his hands inside his sleeves and calmly making his way out.

The man waited and watched out of the corner of his eyes as the doors shut and Jongdae’s footsteps could no longer be heard. Then he rushed to Minseok’s side, nearly tumbling to his knees as he knelt by the bedside.

“Y-You’re.. alive, you’re actually alive…” He said in a shaky tone as he brought a hand to touch Minseok’s face, feeling and touching to make sure he was real.

“I’m alive, Junmyeon.. Somehow alive.”

Jung Junmyeon, son of Jung Yunho and next in line to take over his father’s position as sect head, brought Minseok into a tight hug. “It’s good to have you back, my friend.”

As he let him go, Minseok asked, “Junmyeon… What… What happened.. I don’t understand any of this. I died… I know I did. And now only part of me is here and I have to go back for the other part—”

Junmyeon held up a slender finger, silencing Minseok for a moment. “Speak softly. We are not safe.”

Minseok’s face paled and he straightened his back. “What’s.. happened?” he whispered.

“We… don’t know. Something is moving in the shadows. It’s unnatural, a dark energy grows in the south and the world around us is growing quiet.. Your death was no accident, Minseok. Someone deliberately murdered you. We’ve been investigating—”

“Wait wait wait, what do you mean, someone killed me? You have to start from the beginning.”

Junmyeon tilted his head for a moment, “You mean.. you don’t remember what happened?”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t remember much of what happened before I died.”

Junmyeon stayed there for a moment, looking off into the middle distance, a furrow between his brows. He stood up after a good long moment, took out a few talismans, and began writing on them. He made a barrier that was just big enough for the room, one that would prevent any sound from leaking out. As he sat back down, he made sure to stay close and speak softly, in case of any possible prying ears.

“Minseok… You..” Junmyeon sighed, unsure where to even start with his story. “A couple of weeks before you died, my father sent you out on a mission to investigate the growing disturbances around the area. While you were traveling around, I think you found a lead. You might have even figured it all out, but I think you were followed. Because as you went to go and meet me and my father… You.. Well, Young Master Kim found you bleeding out. Someone knew that you knew and tried to silence you. There’s just no way that you would have done yourself in or fallen in some sort of accident when you told us to meet you..”

Minseok looked at his lap, trying so desperately to remember anything before he died. “The disturbances… What are they? Why did you have me go out?” Minseok asked in a soft voice.

“Down south, there have been reports of a growing power. It’s not demonic energy right now, but only demonic prowess can harness the ability to formulate such an increase of energy… We think something’s masking it. We’ve had scouts go ahead and investigate, but none have returned. Spirits have been going missing from the area. Not just here—all over the country, some places more than others. Animals and insects have grown quiet, almost as if there’s too much yin energy in the surrounding areas. But the energy isn’t so calm, almost as if it is… lifeless. Like there’s nothing. It’s only been worse since you’ve been gone. It’s rare to even come by beasts and ghouls while night hunting. The only kind of energies that we can feel are other cultivators. But the problem with that is not knowing who is related to your death.”

Minseok’s brow twitched. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to tell you that someone close to us is responsible for your death, Minseok.” Junmyeon leaned in further to speak even lower. “Nobody should have known besides the Hwarang, my father, and a few close subordinates of your mission. And yet you were tracked down.”

“What if someone just caught me while I was sneaking around? It might not have been one of them.”

“And I hope you’re right. But there was no demonic energy around you when we found you. I just.. I just don’t feel right about this. Something bad is going to happen. You know how I am about my feelings.”

Minseok snorted. “Yeah, your stomach starts to hurt, but then it ends up that you had something bad to eat.”

“I stress-eat, and you know I have a delicate stomach,” Junmyeon gritted through his teeth.

Minseok went to say something snarky again, but Junmyeon cut him off. 

“Enough! Just please, don’t trust anyone right now. There’s too much unrest going on between the sects. We can’t take any risks.”

“The sects are even involved in this?!”

“No! No, no! Everyone knows you died. It’s just, everyone also knows something is going on in the south and we haven’t been able to properly investigate it. The Inspection is coming up, so everyone has been focused on that. My father has been reluctant to send any more scouts since we lost you and the ones in the south, so without my father taking actions, no one else will. Not yet, at least.”

“What about you?” Minseok asked as he glanced at Junmyeon through his peripheral vision. “Can I trust you?”

“I want to say yes. But I just told you to trust no one. So, if you mustn’t, then you mustn’t.” Junmyeon nodded with the utmost understanding. “But whatever you choose, you have to find out the information you knew before you died. I think it was important enough to have someone kill you. And not just anyone, someone who knows your skill. Not just anyone can go ahead and murder Kim Minseok of Mugunghwa Sect, Leader of the Hwarang.” Junmyeon smiled brightly for Minseok.

Minseok could only offer a meek one in return.

“You can choose if you want to go out and find all this information again. But… Since I’ve asked you not to trust anyone, I understand if you don’t want to trust me to send you out on the same mission again. I just..”

“I want to know my killer, too. I think I’ll do it.” Minseok said nonchalantly. “But why haven’t you done more searches on this? Did nothing really come up?”

“Nothing. No traces of a murderer, no evidence in your room. I couldn’t find anything. And being watched so closely with the Inspection coming up in two weeks—”

“Two weeks?!” Minseok exclaimed. “How long have I been out?!”

Junmyeon’s eyes were wide with the sudden outburst. He calmed after a moment. “Minseok… You’ve..” He let a hand rest on Minseok’s shoulder. “You’ve been dead for three weeks.”

Minseok’s mouth dropped. “But-but.. Only three days went by in that place…”

“What place?” Junmyeon asked carefully, but Minseok was in his own little world thinking so terribly hard about the time difference between places.

He raised his hands and looked them over, he touched his face again and then proceeded to look all over his body beneath his under-robes.

“Min..seok?”

“If I’ve been dead for so long, why is my body so well preserved? What happened to my body?!”

Junmyeon’s face turned grim, like he almost wished to not speak about it.

“I don’t know how your body has been so preserved, but we spent five days without food or rest trying to call your spirit back. Young Master Kim was the first to find you and started the summoning circle, but what he latched on to was so little that even with our help, it was nothing. After five days we moved you from there to a secluded location and Young Master Kim started it all over again. He sat in here meditating, doing everything he could to keep your body from decaying. Not once did he sleep. He’s been here for three weeks just—” Junmyeon caught his words in his mouth. The thought of Jongdae seemed to give him extreme conflicting emotions.

“Young… Master Kim.. Kim Jongdae?” Minseok asked quietly.

Junmyeon nodded. “I was only able to take over for him once for a short time, but he insisted he do it. That he wouldn’t give up… And now.. You’re back. You’re back.” Junmyeon breathed, his eyes red and stinging with the pain of tears about to roll out. “I asked him to notify me the moment something changed in you. When I got the message you were awake, I rushed here as fast as I could… Father would be.. He’d be so happy to know you’re alive. But.. We can’t tell him yet.”

“Why not?” Minseok frowned.

“You need to be kept secret. For as long as possible. No one must know you’re alive,” he whispered. “Go out, find that information, help us get to the bottom of this before the cultivators from across the sea come. There might be something I missed when I went searching for clues in your room. We want to resolve this as soon as possible so they don’t suspend us from cultivating. But if it’s unavoidable, then so be it. I can keep the heads of the sects occupied with preparing the conference. Their focus will be little this way, hopefully…” He spoke quickly, and mostly to himself. He was trying his best to figure out the best plan of action.

“Minseok?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t go alone,” he said suddenly.

“Then come with me.”

Junmyeon shook his head. “I can’t. My father wants me more involved with the conference in the capital than anything. I can’t be missing from there for too long… Why don’t you take Young Master Kim?”

Minseok’s eyes shot open wide. “Kim Jongdae?! Are you kidding me? We’ll be at each other’s throats—”

“That’s what I would have thought three weeks ago. Now… I’m not so sure. If you were to trust anyone in this world, it would be him. What he did for you.. No normal person would do. At least to the point where I know he doesn’t want to kill you. I just—” He cut himself off. “The two of you need to have a long talk. But just take him. I know he’ll help you.”

Just as Minseok was about to refute with the utmost surety, a knock rapped at the paper doors.

“Young Master Jung, I have medicine that I think would be crucial for Kim Hwarang to take at the moment.”

It took a moment before Junmyeon responded with, “That’s fine. Come in.” However, there was no movement and no sound. “Come in!” he repeated, slightly irked by the lack of obedience. But still, no one came.

“You still have the ward up.” Minseok eyed Junmyeon with slight judgment. But he knew his best friend more than anyone and how much of a scatterbrain he actually was despite all regal appearances of being Mugunghwa’s sect leader’s son and a member of the Hwarang.

“Young Master Jung, if you are speaking, I cannot hear you. You have a silencing barrier on the room.” Jongdae’s soft voice came from behind the paper screen doors.

Junmyeon’s brow twitched with anger and he stomped a foot. “I know!” 

Just as he was about to storm to the middle of the room to release the barrier, Minseok caught his wrist and held him back.

“You told me not to trust anyone. I’m not trusting him,” he breathed. “I owe him nothing, I didn’t ask to be saved,” Minseok spat.

“But you also didn’t ask to be killed.” Junmyeon stared him down.

“I…” Minseok’s mouth was left hanging and Junmyeon lifted the seal.

“Come in, Young Master Kim.” Junmyeon said in a voice much different from earlier. This voice was clear and strong, one that seemed fitting for a future sect leader.

They all saluted one another as Jongdae walked into the room.

“What kind of medicine did you bring?” Junmyeon asked with a hand resting on his sword hilt.

“Something to calm the nerves and stop the dizziness.”

“I never said I was dizzy,” Minseok said as he watched Jongdae very carefully.

Jongdae simply ignored Minseok and sat at the edge of his bed as he added a few spoonfuls of dried leaves to a small bowl. He stirred the contents in silence, no one making a sound. Not even as Jongdae blew on the hot water did anyone dare to speak.

He turned in his spot and blew on a spoonful gently. Minseok caught a whiff of the herbal medicine and scrunched his nose. Why did it smell so familiar?

“Drink,” Jongdae said with ease.

Minseok’s cold stare never left Jongdae’s lingering eyes as he leaned over and let his lips touch the tip of the spoon. He slurped it with grace, not letting a single drop anywhere—that is, until he tasted what the substance was.

With a blasting spray all over Jongdae’s face, Minseok grunted, “This is Midnight ginseng!”

Junmyeon immediately snorted but covered his face when Minseok shot him a glare.

“We feed this to sick animals who have a hard time eating! Why would you give me this?!”

“Because you did not specify how you felt, so I made a general concoction that would work for everything,” Jongdae explained as he took out a handkerchief, wiped his face, and dabbed his robes.

Junmyeon snorted. “And for impotency.”

“You shut up!” Minseok snapped but Junmyeon just stifled another laugh.

“If you don’t want to drink something that tastes this awful, then tell me how you feel.” Jongdae’s voice was firm now, like he was getting fed up with this constant push and pull.

“I told you! I don’t know how I feel! I can’t… I can’t describe it…” Minseok looked to the side and made a fist. He really could not describe how he felt, how it felt amazing to be alive and feel the warmth of his skin and the coolness of air. But he also felt empty. Something was missing in him, like he was no longer human, a living corpse at best. Yes, he was dizzy and felt immeasurably weak, but this emptiness overshadowed any weakness he felt.

“Your spiritual energy is so low, it’s hard to even tell it’s there. So I made you something to help revitalize you. Will you please… Just.. Just drink it…” Jongdae’s voice sounded desperate with the way it wavered.

It took both Minseok and Junmyeon aback, as Jongdae’s voice was always clear and gentle. There was never a fault to it.

Minseok tutted and snatched the bowl from him. He then proceeded to down the whole thing with quite the struggle.

With a heavy breath, he plopped the bowl on the tray at the side of his bed and wiped his mouth.

“There, I’ve drunk your medicine. Happy?”

One of the corners of Jongdae’s lips twitched, as if he tried to suppress his smile. “Yes. I will take that,” he breathed out.

Minseok lay back down on the bed, mainly due to the fact that he was quite dizzy again with the sudden influx of emotions, but he’d never admit to that.

“How long until the medicine kicks in?” Minseok asked.

“You should start feeling it within the hour. You probably won’t feel significant changes until the fifth day.” Jongdae answered as he began cleaning up the bowl and tray.

“Fifth day?! How long do you expect me to stay here?!” Minseok exclaimed with wide, anxious eyes.

Jongdae kept his back toward the other two, his expression unknown, yet his voice hinted at something distant, something laced in longing. “I was under the impression you would stay until we figured out what was wrong with you and you were restored to full health.” But the longing in his tone was so faint that Minseok and Junmyeon missed it entirely.

“And how long do you suppose it’ll be until he’s at full health?” Junmyeon asked this time, seeming just as apprehensive.

“A week. Two weeks. A month? Who can say? We don’t know what’s wrong with him or how to make him better.”

Minseok looked at Junmyeon, knowing that he was about to tell him about the journey he tasked him with. So, he furiously shook his head and mouthed angry, uncouth words at him.

“Young Master Kim, do you think a week would have him at decent health? There’s something important that I have asked of him and I’d like it if he could do this task before a month’s time. But if you really think he won’t be in any condition to head out, then I understand.”

Jongdae was silent for a moment, but the fist balled at his side was loud. He eventually turned his head slightly to the side to address them. “A week is much too short,” he seethed. “But I will do what I can. My medicinal knowledge is not nearly as extensive as the scholars of my sect, but I will do what I can.” He turned away and began walking for the doors. “I, too, would like to know just who murdered you.”

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“Young Masters, I have brought dinner,” Jongdae announced as he entered the room. His hair had been tied back in a full braid and his cheeks looked rosy from labor.

“Thank you!” Junmyeon beamed as he pulled out one of the low tables for them to gather around. Minseok’s eyes lingered a little longer than normal on Jongdae’s appearance. He had never seen the man with his hair braided back. It reminded him of a child with bright rosy cheeks, dare he say: cute.

Jongdae helped Minseok out of the bed and over to the table. His legs were weak and shaky, so they would have given out before he reached it on his own.

“Do you not usually have maids here?” Minseok asked as he watched Jongdae settle the contents on the table.

“Not this time. It’s best that few people stay here. This is a private villa on the outskirts of my sect. A family home that we only use for emergencies. Most don’t know it exists, especially with the ward around the lot.”

“So then, your mother must know I’m here?” Minseok asked as he took a small bowl and began to fill it with the delicious-looking dishes.

“She does not. She thinks I’m here for secluded meditation. There is high spiritual flow in this area, so we use it for meditation at times. The only people who know you’re here are myself and Young Master Jung here. Everyone else thinks that your body was confiscated by demons.”

Minseok dropped one of his chopsticks and swallowed hard. “Why is that?”

Junmyeon started, “When we first found you, it was myself, Young Master Kim, the rest of the Hwarang, Park Chanyeol and Byun Baekhyun from Baekho Ridge Sect. For five days straight we were banded together trying to call upon your spirit and bring you back. But in the middle of that, we were attacked...” Junmyeon trailed off, as if saddened by the memory. 

“We split up to get away,” Jongdae continued. “I took you while the rest stayed behind. Only Young Master Jung was aware that I still had you and took you here.”

Minseok’s brows twitched in confusion. “That doesn’t seem so bad. You survived with me. You made it seem like something grave happened.”

Both Jongdae and Junmyeon’s faces turned black, solemn with each second that passed by. It worried Minseok the more they did not talk.

“Nothing… bad happened, right?” he asked carefully.

Jongdae and Junmyeon looked at one another, afraid of what would happen once they said it. They nodded finally in agreement; some unspoken arrangement had been made between the two. Junmyeon was the first to speak.

“Uh, Minseok.. You see.. Your bow.. Bom?”

“Yeah, what of it? Where is my bow?” He began to look around the room again, assessing where his materials might all be.

“Well.. A demon got hold of it during the skirmish… and.. uh..”

“It was snapped in two, and one of the demons took it with it,” Jongdae finished, and even though his voice was firmer than Junmyeon’s, his eyes still refused to look at Minseok.

Minseok couldn’t believe his ears for a moment, so in denial he laughed, “Heh, what? My spiritual weapon, Bom? Bom can’t break, it’s my _spiritual weapon_.”

“We left it on the ground, Minseok…” Junmyeon added. “And they took it from us before we could do anything. All their dark energy wiped out any last energy that it might have had with you.”

Minseok thought about how at some point in the spirit realm, his bow had gone missing. Maybe it was true? Jung Kai really didn’t have anything to do with it?

“Then, Gwangseon? You managed to take that, didn’t you?” He shot his head up and furiously stared between the two cultivators who awkwardly sat across from him.

Jongdae got up in a flurry, his robes swaying about like a mesmerizing dance as he did so. He scurried to the shelves that separated the parts of the room and gathered a black sheath and sword from a display rack. He brought it over with ease and knelt beside Minseok while he presented it.

“Young Master Kim managed to snatch your sword in the last few moments of the ambush,” Junmyeon said as he watched Minseok take hold of the sword.

Minseok allowed his energy to flow through the sword, but as he did so, he noticed how very faintly it responded. His sword was always so eager to listen, always so ready to do whatever he commanded. It was a trusty and light sword, deceptively powerful, but agile enough to move quickly. Gwangseon had never once failed him. But now.. It was so weak it was as if a frail puppy could hardly get its hind legs up to support itself.

Both Jongdae and Junmyeon noticed this as well. They had noticed Minseok gave off a very faint aura, like it nearly did not exist. But when his sword barely flashed its usual bright pink color, they knew that something was devastatingly wrong.

Even holding his sword couldn’t make him feel whole. To prove wrong whatever was happening, Minseok stood up and gave a few swishes of his sword, but as he went to lunge forward his leg wavered and he immediately felt dizzy. The sword dropped from his wrist, as it was feeling immensely heavy, and he tumbled to the side.

Jongdae sprang up and caught him without fault.

Minseok panted, it felt like he was putting little effort into the display, but maybe it was just a little too much on his body.

Jongdae quickly helped Minseok to his bed and helped him to lie back down.

“…I guess it really will take the full week, then,” Junmyeon said with a grave look on his face. It pained him to see his friend incapacitated like that.

Jongdae said nothing as he helped Minseok, doting on him as if he were a mother and making sure he was comfortable.

Junmyeon gathered the food and closed it up as he lifted the entire table over to the bed.

For the rest of that night they spoke about how to get Minseok back to some sort of strength, despite not knowing what was really wrong with him. Minseok knew deep down that he couldn’t let either of them know right away. He needed to assess his situation a little more before he made a decision on who to trust. But what he was determined to do was to get as healthy as possible and start his quest of finding out what happened to him.

Junmyeon left late in the night, a little while after Minseok fell asleep and Jongdae saw him out.

“Kim Jongdae. I’d like to have a word with you,” Junmyeon asked just outside of the villa. He was about to fly off when he paused and stared at the moon for a moment.

“Of course, Jung Junmyeon.” Jongdae humored him with his hands folded neatly in the sleeves of his robes. They were already so close after experiencing everything with Minseok’s dead body, formalities seemed little of use between them.

“I… First off, thank you for telling me when he woke up. I…” In the moonlight Jongdae could see the faint glimmer of tears running down his cheek. “I gave up on him too easily. But you stayed and persisted, and I commend you for that. Thank you.” He wiped his eyes quickly before turning around and smiling a melancholic kind of smile. “But I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Please, ask.” Jongdae lowered his eyes and offered that sweet smile to show his submission.

“Keep him a secret for now. No one must know he’s awake. And wherever he goes, follow him. Make sure… Make sure..” Junmyeon’s voice began to lose itself in his throat, as he was choking up again.

“Make sure that he stays safe.” Jongdae met his gaze with a tender one, knowing very well what the young master wanted to ask of him.

“Please,” Junmyeon offered a weak smile.

“I was going to, even if you hadn’t asked me.” Jongdae bowed his head in compliance.

A sigh of relief left Junmyeon’s lips. “Good. I’ll be back at the end of the week. My father will have my head once he finds out I’ve been missing.”

Jongdae chuckled politely. “Yes, I understand. I see the way my younger sister suffers as she’s to be sect leader one day. Hurry back before you’re in too much trouble.” He waved a hand for Junmyeon to move along.

“Then, I’ll trouble you to look after him. Take good care of him.” He whispered the last part as he got up on his sword and took off into the night.

“I will.” Jongdae whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, it took five chapters to get to see jongdae... hahaha... here.. he finally is... >>;;;


	7. 6

On the fifth night that Minseok was bedridden in Jongdae’s villa, he stared up at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes.

On his fourth day he’d tried escaping, but to little effect. Earlier in the day, he’d tried again and failed miserably. But as he lay there, feeling that he had rested long enough, he really needed to go out. Even for just a walk or a tour of the villa, that would be nice. But instead he was confined to the room, not to leave unless supervised by Jongdae. One could say it was suffocating, but that would be an understatement of the way Minseok felt. He still desperately needed to go back. Lu Han was in danger and he had an inkling as to how to get his full power restored. Even though his body felt a little better, his power simply was not returning. It was still weak and low, and even Jongdae’s sessions of sending him spiritual energy did nothing to improve his meridians. His body was similar to the state of someone who had just suffered a qi deviation, but nothing was settling his meridians back to normal. The spiritual energy that Jongdae sent him helped a little, even if it was just barely.

However, seeing Kim Jongdae’s face every day wasn’t so terrible; as he was quite a handsome man. What troubled Minseok was the fact that he hated his guts, and he _knew_ that Kim Jongdae hated him back just as much. But the weirdest thing of it all was how sweet and tender Jongdae had been to him for the last couple of days. Knowing that Jongdae was the one who held onto his spirit as it went on to a spirit realm took his mind for a run! Didn’t both Lu Han and Bei Xiong say that someone with strong emotions was holding him to the mortal realm? Didn’t Lu Han say that it was like love? Maybe he’d gotten the feeling wrong, maybe it was pure loathing. Love and hatred were passionate emotions—maybe he mixed them?

But as Minseok lay there thinking dubiously over that, he wondered: _Just when did we start hating each other so long ago? Why did it happen?_

So, he thought back, all the way to the first moments they met.

_Twelve years ago, Jinju Peony Sect—_

Every twenty years, the three main sects host the Twin Dragon Conference, a gathering of cultivators from all over the country, who compete in competitions for the top three rankings. It started hundreds of years ago for the Crown Prince to choose his personal cultivator bodyguards. They would be known as the King’s Guard. However, the need died when the Palace started producing their own cultivators for the personal guard. Therefore, the conference became used as a friendly competition. But really, it was to show off each sect’s disciples and compare who has the better, more powerful sect. A display of power, as it were.

Hosting the Conference rotated between the three most notable sects, Baekho Ridge, Mugunghwa Valley, Jinju Peony and the capital, and that particular year, the conference was held in Jinju Peony Sect. It would be the first time sixteen-year-old Kim Minseok had ever traveled to the elegant sect.

The sect itself resided in the center of the city that built itself around it in its early years. Most sects were built away from civilizations, high in the mountains or secluded in valleys. However, this sect was built from the bottom up by runaway gisaengs. Young girls from poor families trained to entertain the wealthy, they knew nothing but cities and towns yet decided to start in a small village and build themselves up into one of the most prominent sects in the country. And over hundreds of years, the sect only grew bigger and more beautiful. Only the highest grade of furniture, clothes and supplies passed through this sect. Even the education was the most revered for the arts. Instruments of all kinds were taught for both entertainment and spiritual cleansing, dancing, sword dancing, and most importantly, singing. Singing was one of their more notable trademarks. Almost all the members could use their voice to exorcise demons, monsters, corpses and ghosts.

However, because the sect derived from gisaengs, that meant they provided the entertainment for just about every special event held in their cultivator world. Which meant they spared no coin or talent for the Twin Dragon Conference that year. The sect and surrounding city were decorated beautifully in lanterns, flowing silks and dancing men and women. Peony petals lined the streets and the flowers were potted in nearly every inn, shop and human entrance. Music could be heard from just about every corner of the sect—even the townspeople paraded and celebrated the event.

As guest cultivators rode in on their noble steeds, the streets were lined with cultivators and civilians alike, throwing flowers at their feet and cheering gleefully. It was one of the hugest spectacles Minseok had ever come across. Yes, his own sect knew how to throw a festival, but this conference and this sect was something from another world. He figured that if he ever ascended to the heavens that this is what it would be like. Bright colors and smiling faces of happy people.

“Oh ho ho! Ladies thank you, thank you. This Young Master is too humble. Thank you, thank you.”

Minseok glanced sideways at the person riding on a white horse beside him. Kim Junmyeon was dressed in the sect’s normal pink robes. He had yet to be anointed to the Hwarang, while Minseok was dressed in his Hwarang-specific pink robes and red accents. He was the youngest ever to join the elite group of cultivators. His robes were a little more extravagant than the regular set robes, a slightly darker shade of pink. It complimented him beautifully, giving his cheeks an even brighter glow whenever he blushed.

“Junmyeon, you’re embarrassing me,” Minseok chided under his breath.

“Hm? Oh, hush. I can’t deny the ladies and their affections for me.” Junmyeon smiled brightly to himself, straightened his back on the horse, and counted all the flowers that he had been given. His handsome looks were swooned over by nearly all of the ladies that saw him. “Want one?” Junmyeon smiled cheekily as he handed over the fullest and prettiest peony in his hand.

Minseok snorted and rolled his eyes, hurrying up his horse in the process. She was an elegant bay horse and stood strong against the others. Minseok couldn’t go far, as there was a group of cultivators in front of them, but he was far enough ahead so that he didn’t have to listen to Junmyeon’s gloating every two seconds. But as he rode on by, he caught a glimpse of a couple of women with silk masks covering their faces. Just their pretty eyes and big hair could be seen. Each of them giggled into one another when they made eye contact with Minseok—but of course, Minseok blushed madly and trotted on even faster, right up against the rear of the sect parading in front of him.

The line of cultivators, proudly showing themselves off and their lush numbers of the best disciples each sect had to offer, led to the main building of the sect. This was where the head and her family resided, and where the disciples trained and lived. There was a massive courtyard, holding the contestants in their respective sects and the bystanders around the edges. The Crown Prince sat at the top of the threshold, masked by a screened window. To his left sat the heads of Mugunghwa Valley and Jinju Peony. To his right sat the head of Baekho Ridge and the head of his personal cultivator guard. Being the most prominent and well-respected heads, they were treated with care and respect by all others. In the crowds below were the heads of lesser sects.

Once everyone was settled in, the head of Jinju Peony raised her hand and the music and flower petals stopped raining. With a clear and smooth voice, she announced to the courtyard, “For centuries, we as cultivators have held these games in honor of the royal family and the Crown Prince. It has finally once again fallen upon the responsibility of Jinju Peony Sect to uphold these games, and may we do the Twin Dragon Conference justice with what we offer. For the next month, let us gather together and participate in the games and enjoy the many festivities and entertainments we have prepared for you.” With a perfect curve of her lips and salute to the crowd and the Crown Prince, she ended her speech, fluid and without fault.

As she sat back down, the Crown Prince emerged from the screen. Many gasps and murmurs could be heard from the crowds as he did so.

Junmyeon leaned in and whispered to Minseok beside him, “Bet you he can’t even pull a bow string.”

Minseok looked the prince up and down as he gave some kind of official and heartwarming speech about equality for all. Minseok’s eyes glinted with amusement, noting how very pale and meek the prince appeared. Even though his looks were quite incomparable, he looked like he hadn’t done a hard days of work in months.

At the end of the speech, everyone in the courtyard saluted in the direction of the crown prince and shouted their thanks to him. Without another word, he slunk back behind his screen and watched the event continue.

Jinju Peony’s sect leader rose back to her feet and announced, “Let the games… begin!” A firework was shot into the air and the petals began to fall again. 

Not long after, a group of dancers rushed into the courtyard in black hanboks and began a routine that flashed the bright blue and red colors underneath their skirts. It was a mesmerizing dance full of smiling, beautiful girls. Their makeup was done boldly, and their hair done up big and neat. But the girls did not stay long and twirled away to the sides as a new set of dancers walked in. 

These dancers were a little taller than the girls, and their outfits weren’t hanboks, but instead flowing white and green robes. Their hair was long and braided back at the sides. They moved like water, moving in and out of each other like a river over rocks. They were the male Sleeve Dancers—their sleeves were abnormally long, some even reached the ground, and were made of thin silk. With each movement they bent back and leaned forward on one leg, letting the sleeves twirl around and spray about in beautiful fashions. Each twirl of the sleeve showcased a different color, flashes of pink, yellow, blue and red all beamed about with their movements. They used their spiritual powers to lightly produce different colors and wow their audience.

Just as Minseok caught his eyes staring so eagerly at the performers, one of them appeared before him. His eyes were narrow, and his hair seemed untouched despite all of his movement. In that moment, the dancer smiled kindly and flung out his sleeve just a hand’s length from Minseok’s nose. The man did this with several other cultivators—it was part of the dance. But for some reason Minseok was so struck by the movement that he nearly unholstered his sword. The dancer moved on, but Minseok’s heart was racing a mile a minute. The frisson his body exuded alarmed him. It was just a silly dance move, so why did it make him feel so on edge?

For the rest of the dance, Minseok watched that specific dancer. He watched as the girls joined back in with their specific style of dancing, despite it being so different, and watched as they melded perfectly together. The sleeves would encircle the girls and release them in rainbows of colors, and the most common image that one would get while they danced and fluttered around were that of rogue petals flailing around. They were beautiful tableaus even if they were for a fleeting second.

Minseok didn’t realize it, but this was the very first instance he met Kim Jongdae—the dancer who flung his sleeve in his face. What Minseok remembered as his first meeting with Kim Jongdae happened later that evening.

For the first day of the conference, sect disciples were treated to a grand ceremony, full of delicious food and strong wine. Only on the next day would the actual events and competitions start. But as the banquet went on, and the mirth of cultivators resounded throughout the hold, even young Minseok needed a break. The sect _was_ beautiful after all, and even though he had an entire month to look around, he couldn’t help but sneak away and visit the town. He spent hours loitering around, forgetting all about the rambunctious banquet happening at the main building. He had spent so much time getting lost on his own that he didn’t even realize he had walked into a more restricted area. There were no signs or wards to keep people out, so he walked through the thicket of forest on a small dirt path just on the outskirts of the town.

The moon shone bright in the sky, high enough to signal that it was plenty past a decent sleeping hour. Stars twinkled in the thick night, fading in out of the trees as he walked by. Slowly but surely, the trees thinned out, and it was getting easier to see the sultry night sky. But as Minseok wandered farther down the curious path, he heard a sound. One that was melodic and carried on the wind.

It piqued his interest and he quickened his steps. The smell of running river water began to engulf his senses, then soon the sound of a small waterfall took place. He was nearing a small spring of some sort, and of course, the closer he got, the clearer the voice became.

 _“Flowers bloom, holding the warming sun,_ _  
__Becoming small dreams.  
_ _The withered flower petals bloom one by one…”_

The voice was delicate and clear, like tall grass flowing gently in a spring wind. It was the most beautiful sound Minseok had ever heard.

He slowed his pace and quieted his footsteps, not wanting to disturb what he thought was a singing maiden. Through a bush he could see the outline of a human being, so he huddled as close as possible to it and pulled the branches down to peep at the singer.

 _“A bright morning begins at the end of the deepest night_ _  
__And is beautifully reborn…”_

Minseok had never heard a song like this before—the words were so poetic and so natural.

But as awed as Minseok was with the song and voice, his mouth dropped further at the sight before him. Under the crystal moon was a maiden, seated naked atop a boulder in the middle of a spring. Her back faced Minseok as she brushed her hair gently. The curve of her waist to her hips was like fine marble, crafted by only the most skilled of artisans and adorned with pale skin that could only glisten in the moonlight. The water droplets that trickled from her hair sparkled as they passed the light, flashing by quickly before receding into the water.

Minseok crouched in awe, watching the naked woman brush her hair and listening so intently to her song. But as he let his guard down, regrettably, his foot pressed down against a fallen branch and the snap was loud enough to alert all animals in the area. He looked down to see what damage had been done, only to look back up and find a missing maiden. There was no sweet voice to fill the air, just pure unaltered silence.

Minseok shot out from behind the bush, looking every which way for the maiden. He wanted nothing more than to meet her, to see how beautiful her face might be—but as he dashed out onto the rock and then to the side of the bank, he was attacked. Without a sound, loose white robes engulfed his vision and one of his arms was grabbed. Against his neck he could feel the cool sting of a silver blade.

“F-Fair maiden, I—” Minseok’s voice quivered.

The person snorted. “Maiden?”

Minseok froze listening to the low and hostile voice. This was not the voice of a dainty maiden.

“I-I—”

“You what? You’re sorry because I’m a man now?” He further pressed the sword into Minseok’s neck. “But if I were a lady… You would have pursued.”

Minseok chose his silence, afraid to make the wrong choice. All he could do was swallow and let the prominence of his throat bob against the sharp edge of the blade.

The man snickered. “Heh. Trash.”

Within a flash, he removed his sword and pressed a forceful palm against Minseok’s chest, shoving him backwards. Without realizing it, Minseok flew and fell, expecting to feel the hard ground instead of the icy smack of water against his back. With a clap and splash of water, Minseok’s vision was engulfed by a watery force field. He squirmed once the realization hit and was choking for air. But burned in his mind was the face of the man that pushed him. The glaring visage and cat-like features of someone he had met at the banquet and the dance…

Jinju Peony’s sect leader’s firstborn, Kim Jongdae.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Minseok visibly shook at the distant memory. Years ago, they had met under such awful circumstances and for some reason, it had never gotten better. They remained enemies.

Minseok shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts. There was no way he was going to stay in this room with someone who hated him and was deliberately keeping him from going out. He felt okay enough to go, so why couldn’t he?! This wasn’t his sect and he had no obligation to be here! So he thought of a new tactic—to wait for the cover of night to escape. Hopefully Jongdae would be fast asleep.

At least three hours had gone by when Minseok thought it would be fine to make an escape through the window. So without his outer robes, and only Gwangseon at his hip, he opened a window and let in the flickering moonlight. The trees above only allowed so much of the light to escape past. But just as he stepped out, a knock fell against his door.

“Young Master Kim, are you awake?” A soft voice echoed over and to his ears. 

But he did not respond. 

A moment went by and another series of taps reverberated. “Kim Minseok?” 

Another pause, and Minseok finally raised a leg to make his final escape. 

“Minseok—” The voice nearly sang as the door opened.

Both Minseok and Jongdae froze at the sight of each other. It was a good moment before either of them realized what was going on: Jongdae had a tray of tea, meaning he probably wanted to talk, while Minseok was quite literally in the middle of climbing out the window.

“You…” Jongdae said breathlessly, his eyes wide open.

But Minseok acted faster and bolted his way through the window. As he did so, he heard the wooden tray and the porcelain tea set crash against the floor, but he didn’t look behind. His focus was purely on escaping, stocking-footed and clad in nothing but his white undergarments and sword.

Suddenly, Jongdae was in front of him. His robes floated down and his feet landed gingerly on the forest ground. Minseok skidded to a stop and sucked his teeth in annoyance. As he went to take a new turn, though, Jongdae dashed forward with an outstretched hand. Minseok dodged it and used the hilt of his sword to block it to the side. But Jongdae was just a tad too fast and spun around to grab hold of his blocking arm.

Their eyes locked as their arms were mid-air. Minseok began to sweat already, he could feel his body quickly losing energy. Jongdae’s eyes were nearly slits, almost a glare towards him.

“You cannot leave here. It’s not safe,” Jongdae said curtly.

“I feel fine. I’m sick of being in that room!” Minseok yanked his arm down and freed himself. There was only a split second of that freedom before they were connected in a series of attacks and blocks. Gusts of wind flowed with each of Minseok’s hits, while Jongdae blocked them gracefully and did everything in his power to hold Minseok in a lock. At one point, Minseok was even held underneath Jongdae’s arm—had it not been for his free legs, he might have been subdued. Yet Minseok was able to kick a leg up and lift himself backwards, thrusting Jongdae high into the air as they switched positions. Jongdae’s body slammed back to the ground with a loud thud. It was hard, but not nearly as hard as it possibly could have been. Minseok was at his limit trying that move out, but he was desperate to leave.

Jongdae slowly got himself together and looked up at the panting and red-faced Minseok. He gritted his teeth and bore a complicated expression. Minseok wiped his forehead of sweat and quickly turned to make his escape once more. But as he landed just a few struggled steps, his footing was caught on a root and he tumbled to the ground with little grace. With a grunt and a mouth full of leaves and dirt, he looked up and let his eyes orient themselves.

With just a few body lengths between them, Jongdae furiously crawled his way over on all fours.

Minseok looked over his shoulder and saw the man coming for him, so he lifted himself up and tried to crawl away. He didn’t get far when a hand latched itself onto the back of his clothes, pulling back as Minseok forged on, and mistakenly so.

Jongdae had managed to accidentally grab the hem of Minseok’s pants, pulling them straight down as Minseok tried to escape.

There, in the glittering moonlight, did a pale, round, and pert thing appear.

Both men froze in absolute shock.

Minseok’s body found itself unable to move away or do anything with the mortification that was creeping up within him. Jongdae’s mouth only quivered, opening and closing as if to say something. But as Minseok finally looked behind himself, he found Jongdae wide eyed, face covered in a hot shade of red. He looked almost… terrified?

Out of nowhere, Jongdae flinched backward and covered his mouth with his hand. He fell on his own rear and crawled back, as if Minseok were some kind of disease he needed to get away from.

“…Sorry..” he whispered so quietly as he got up and ran that Minseok nearly missed it.

It was a good while of Minseok trying to piece together what just happened, in that same position, before he pulled his pants back up and sat with his legs crossed beneath him.

 _I was the one who got his ass unwillingly shown to the world, why is he the one running away?!_ he thought to himself. _He looked as if he had seen a feral corpse for the first time all over again… And here I thought he was trying to keep me locked up, but he runs away the moment my rear is out. I guess I should have done this sooner._

Minseok smirked to himself and nearly convinced himself to get up and leave. If not for the thought that kept resurfacing for those past couple of days: _“There is something stronger keeping you together.. It is an emotion…Like love.”_

Minseok’s face fell back into deep thought. _But if he actually loved me, he would have stayed, wouldn’t he? Only someone who hated my guts would run away in disgust… Right?_

Minseok sat there in the light cool wind of the night thinking for a little while longer about what just happened. It ended with him deciding to apologize to Jongdae. Afterall, he was the one who had been taking such good care of him and Minseok was the one disrespecting that hospitality. He knew he would have to repay Jongdae somehow, someday, so it was best to not be so rude about it all.

He got up and made his way begrudgingly to Jongdae’s room. The wind began to pick up as he walked across the villa, blowing right through him and causing him to be quite cold. The seasons were changing into beautiful reds and golden oranges, but he had never felt so affected by it before. Even the sweat that he produced from the fight hadn’t completely disappeared, he was in a state of cold and clammy discomfort.

Deep in his thoughts, he would have missed Jongdae’s room had it not been for the dim candlelight flickering beyond the paper screens. He stood just outside the door, biting a lip before taking any sort of action. What was he to say? How should he go about it? What if Jongdae actually… loved him? What kind of love was it? A platonic, friendship kind or the romantic kind?

Each time he would have those thoughts, he’d scrunch his face up and immediately smother them down. There had never been any kind of instance in his life when Jongdae had treated him fairly or kindly. The same for him! He never gave companionship to Jongdae, so why would he be the one using love to connect him to this world?

Even so, there was no need to fight with Jongdae right now. Minseok sighed. He genuinely felt bad for what just happened. Jongdae was hiding him away and taking very good care of him, there was no need to be so aggressive. He was embarrassed, of course, but Jongdae was probably more upset than Minseok was, based on how he ran away.

Minseok pinched the bridge of his nose, then straightened his shoulders. He knocked on the wooden panel outside of the door and called out, “Uh.. Kim Jongdae… I, um..” The wind picked up and made his robes spring about in a manic fashion. “I’m.. sorry about tonight..” He did not raise his voice to overcome the wind, knowing that Jongdae would be able to hear it clearly.

But there was no response from the other side. It was only a few seconds, but there should have been some sort of response. Maybe he was _that_ upset?

“Look, I _did_ want to run away, but I am sorry for fighting you and for…that—” As he spoke the light in Jongdae’s room blew out suddenly. This threw him off guard and immediately something didn’t seem right.

The door flew open and a hand reached out and snagged him inside. He tumbled around for a good moment before his back was pressed against a warm chest. An arm was secured over his own while he followed the other hand to the lips of his assailant. Jongdae held a finger to his lips, speaking with careful eyes in the dim light of the room.

“Someone just entered the barrier I have around the villa.”

“Is it not Junmyeon?” Minseok whispered back.

Jongdae shook his head. “The only people who have access to the villa’s barrier are you, myself, Young Master Jung and my mother. Not even my sister has access and knows that she’s not allowed here at the moment. She’s busy with the conference, anyways.”

“It might be an accident.” Minseok thought about how the wind picked up earlier, but he could not sense the other spiritual force of another person for the life of him.

“No. The barrier is an endless one. You could not find it unless you had the spell to get through it. Someone has forced their way in. They’ve masked their spiritual force so I cannot tell who it is. We have to leave; someone knows you’re hidden here.” Jongdae let Minseok go and began placing things away at his desk and into his sleeves.

Jongdae stood straight and gave Minseok a once over. “Here.” He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a pair of boots. “Can you deal with that for now? We don’t have time to dress you.”

“Th-This is fine, why don’t we just confront—” Jongdae dashed toward him and grabbed his wrist.

Before Minseok knew it, the two had left the villa and were running at an alarming pace down a path in the back of the building. Jongdae raised two fingers and closed his eyes, a bright green light surrounded his hand and dispersed as quickly as it came.

“Was that an illusion spell?” Minseok asked.

“Yes. It won’t keep whoever came from finding the guest room, but it should buy us some time before they break the spell and realize that we left,” Jongdae said rather curtly and continued to drag Minseok along.

They ran for a good long while, stopping to hide behind a tree every so often. It was a few hours before daybreak when they stopped. Jongdae sensed no one following them, but it frustrated Minseok to no end that he could not sense anyone. On top of that, he was still having a hard time keeping up with Jongdae. He tried so hard to hide it, but his body was shaking with fatigue. After their light scuffle, all he wanted to do now was take a good long sleep. But they both agreed it was too dangerous to stop by the surrounding towns and rest at an inn. Once they were found out, whoever trespassed would look immediately in the surrounding villages, meaning it would be too risky to use disguises on themselves.

To keep as hidden as possible, they decided to stay in the forest, under the cover of trees and another barrier that Jongdae set up. Before Jongdae had left to go set up a perimeter, he took out a familiar set of robes. On top lay Minseok’s headband with the crest of the Hwarang in the center. These were his robes, symbolizing both his status as a member of the Hwarang and status as a disciple of the sect.

“You kept them with you… You’ve been preparing for us to leave for a while now, haven’t you?” Minseok asked in an almost apologetic voice.

Jongdae nodded. “I’ve been preparing for the worst since this mess started.”

“You knew someone would come to your villa.”

“I wasn’t sure when or who, but I assumed it wouldn’t be long until someone found out that your body was taken here.”

“You really don’t think it was Junmyeon who gave us away?” Minseok asked a low voice, almost as if he were afraid of the answer.

“I don’t believe it was him. He would have given you away a long time ago. These people must have been looking for you since we hid you.” Jongdae moved diligently about, gathering small sticks and dried leaves to create a small fire to warm up by. With the barrier he was going to create, it wouldn’t be detected.

“The only reason someone would come looking for me is if they knew I wasn’t dead. Or that something happened in the process when I was dying… The night I died,” Minseok added and Jongdae came to a halt. “Who was there? I don’t remember much, but I want to know who was there to get a list of people of who it could have been.”

Jongdae sat up straight and his black locks of hair fell back in perfect place. Not even the wind of running for so long could mess it up. “That night… Besides myself and Young Master Jung, there was also Do Kyungsoo and Bae Seulgi of the Hwarang who arrived shortly after I did. Then it was my junior Kim Jongin of Jinju Peony sect, and first and second disciples of Baekho Ridge; Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol.”

Minseok closed his eyes upon hearing those names. They were some of the closest people to him. People he had many friendly competitions with (excluding Jongdae and Jongin). Especially the Hwarang: Bae Seulgi, Do Kyungsoo and Jung Junmyeon. They were his closest and most trusted friends—he never thought it possible to have been betrayed by any of them. Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol were also good friends with him. They often ran into each other while night hunting and their sect’s leaders were close, which meant many visits and hours of friendly sparring. 

The only people he felt disconnected to were Kim Jongdae and Kim Jongin, both of whom were disciples of the Jinju Peony Sect, both of whom were known as best friends with their third member, Oh Sehun. Naturally, Minseok dissociated with them because of his relationship with Jongdae. But how could he bring himself to accuse either of them? Jongdae spent all this time caring for him, there was natural doubt that Jongdae had killed him. But Jongin? There was a possibility. With the way Minseok treated Jongdae over the years, it was possible Jongin held a grudge and sliced him down, but what did Jongin have to do with the information he had on the movement in the south? Unless he was working with whatever was going on, there would be no need for him to murder Minseok.

Since this meant someone was a part of the southern movement, then there was a defector amongst that group of cultivators.

Minseok opened his eyes after thinking to himself for a good long while, not having realized that Jongdae left to set up the barrier.

He would keep his deductions to himself for now. He still couldn’t fully trust Jongdae—there was possibility he was putting up a façade. The same with Junmyeon, no matter how close they were. Even being childhood friends, it was still possible Jung Junmyeon ordered his murder.

But why, just why of all things, if Kim Jongdae wanted him dead, would he go through the trouble to bring him back?

Minseok sighed out once more in aggravation as he changed into his clean robes.

There was little he could do in this state. He decided he would play it safe and stay close to Jongdae. He had the least chance of dying again by his side, anyways.

He sat down in front of the fire in lotus position and began to meditate again. It was really all he could do. But it wasn’t long before he had fallen asleep in that position—meditating did not work so well when you had little spiritual energy to focus on. 


	8. 7

It was only a few hours of unsatisfying sleep before Minseok woke. The sun was shining through the trees and the birds were quite loud. As he came to, his body started recognizing the smells of dew laden ground and the faint hint of… flowers. The morning was also quite chilly, so when he recognized warmth on his front side, he moved closer and tightened the arm he had draped over the heat.

His eyes fluttered open and focused on a head of black hair. His brows furrowed with the image he was trying to comprehend. He lifted his head and arm and saw the outline of a body leading down in green and white robes. As soon as the realization of what was going on hit him, he jerked backwards and tumbled around on the ground before sitting up in mild disgust.

His cheeks burned and he hated the feeling—the way his chest pounded and the way the burning sensation tingled the more he thought about it. Jongdae stirred with life after a moment, wiping an eye then sitting up with a slightly disoriented mind. He looked around for something and as he noticed it was not in sight he turned around in a panic. The moment his eyes landed on Minseok, he relaxed immediately and offered that kind and gentle smile of his.

“Good morning.”

When Minseok did not respond, he thought nothing of it. But as he noticed Minseok’s heaving chest and red face he furrowed his brows in concern.

“Is everything alright?” Jongdae went to stand and make his way over but Minseok stretched a hand out and shook it furiously.

“No! I-It’s fine! Just stay there.”

Jongdae sat back on the ground and tilted his head in confusion.

“Are you sure everything is fine?”

“Yes! Just stay there!” Minseok snapped.

Jongdae sighed, this was the kind of Minseok he was used to, snippy and hot headed. So, he stood up and ignored his wishes anyways. “Then when you are done, join me down this way. We will go into the village down the mountainside and carefully get breakfast.” Without another word, Jongdae got up, cleaned up the fire pit and walked away.

Minseok watched him and his heart slowly calmed down. When did he even fall asleep last night? He had remembered feeling so uncomfortable all night but then.. He remembered something soft and pillow-like under his head and he immediately fell right to sleep. Not to mention, it was so warm at some point in the night, like he truly felt comfortable and wrapped in blankets.

With a shake of his head he stood up and fixed himself up.l, he corrected his robes and touched up his topknot.The wind was still and the sun had not yet warmed up the landscape, so their robes were covered in a decent amount of dew. For the rest of that morning, after they found a stream to rinse their faces in, they walked silently down the mountainside. It was an awkward, stifling walk, and he was glad the moment they reached the village to distract his thoughts. 

“I’m putting us under a concealment ward. We’re going to look just like average villagers here. Don’t do anything suspicious or put your hand on your sword,” Jongdae said rather calmly, as if the whole ordeal this morning hadn’t occurred.

Minseok nodded in understanding and walked beside Jongdae through the town.

“Do you think anyone is here looking for us?” Minseok asked lowly.

“It’s possible. I doubt there’s many now. Depending on how many came, they’ve probably either gone to another village or left at least one person behind.” The further they walked into the village, the more ramshackle it became. The dirt paths were more like mud and the houses seemed shabbier than the market stalls. “We’ll eat here,” Jongdae said as they stopped in front of a run-down-looking restaurant.

A woman with a tan and brown hanbok walked out of the restaurant holding a pot and dumping its liquids on the side. Her eyes gleamed at seeing the two men standing before her shop, they were more handsome than the average lower class.

“Gentleman, gentleman! Looking for something to eat? Come in, come in! We just got a fresh pig this morning, and the soup’s particularly tasty. Come in and have a bite!”

Jongdae nodded his head kindly and walked on inside the restaurant after the woman. Minseok simply stared in his disbelief, listening to the villagers walk by coughing and some men coughing up saliva to spit on the ground.

The moment they went inside, they were met with the musty smell of dirty men, and the faint aroma of a fatty pig.

“Here, here! Sit here!” The woman beamed as she hastily wiped two mats in an excited manner for them. It was a nice secluded spot in the room, but not secluded enough to get rid of the smell. “You gentlemen are too good-looking to be from around here. Where ya from?”

As they sat down, Jongdae smiled politely towards her. “We’re simple blacksmiths on an errand for our master. We’re on our way to Sansintaenghwa mountain in search of rare ore for him.”

The lady nodded as she poured them both bowls of wine. “Well, ya gentlemen are welcome here anytime. How far ya come from?”

“We only just started yesterday. Our master lives secluded in the mountain nearby. We rarely interact with anyone.”

“I’m sure fine craftsmanship takes a lot of concentration and seclusion. Otherwise, you boys looking for a full breakfast, or just congee?”

“Full, please.” Jongdae smiled once more at the woman, his eyes nearly closing into those feline-like features as he did so.

The woman’s face ran bright red and she turned around with a whimper and ran off.

“Y-You know I don’t have money on me, right?” Minseok asked meekly.

“I’m aware,” Jongdae responded calmly and drank the small bowl of wine.

“…Then I’ll pay you back later,” Minseok mumbled under his breath and drank his small bowl as well. He scrunched his face in distaste with how weak and poor the quality of the wine was.

“We mustn’t linger here long. Let’s buy anything that you may need and then get going,” Jongdae said as he poured the both of them more wine.

“Where are we going after this?”

“That’s another matter I wish to speak to you of. You want to pick up where you left off before you died and uncover the identity of your killer. I figure since we must skip over most of your resting now, we might as well start the investigation. I will act as your bodyguard until you regain your full strength—we can already assume that you’re being pursued.”

Minseok thought before speaking, “Then.. We should make our way to Mugunghwa Valley. My spiritual energy is so low that hardly anyone will recognize me using just a simple concealment spell. I can break us in through the eastern valley side and sneak us into my room in the main pavilion.”

As they spoke, the woman and a few of her shabby workers showed up with platters of breakfast foods. Soup, congee and a few fresh green side dishes. Minseok’s mouth immediately watered at the sight of solid food. Eating and drinking herbal soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the last couple of days was arduous. Even if the food wasn’t the high quality stuff he was used to, it was miles away from bitterness every day.

Jongdae served Minseok a bowl of congee and carefully gave him a few pieces of each of the side dishes. He was particular about not sharing the other soup. Minseok went to reach for a piece of floating meat with his chopsticks but Jongdae blocked him with his own.

“Is something wrong?” Minseok gritted his teeth.

“This is too heavy for your digestion. Just the congee, rice and the fresh vegetables.”

Minseok ignored his advice and maneuvered his chopsticks around to take something from the soup again. Jongdae easily stopped him again. There was one more attempt, but Minseok gave up when Jongdae pulled the bowl of soup away.

“I want the meat!”

“No.” Jongdae held the bowl close to himself.

“Give me your meat!”

Jongdae snorted and some of the soup he had in his mouth fell back into the bowl.

Minseok became rather grumpy after that. But he left it alone.

“Do you really think we’ll find anything in your room? If one of the Hwarang were to be the culprit, then I would assume they’ve long since gone into your room,” Jongdae said halfway through their breakfast.

Minseok frowned. “I.. I really don’t believe it was one of them. But… you’re right. It’s possible. That still doesn’t mean we can’t try and look. If we must, we’ll look in their rooms, too.”

“There’s a higher chance in getting caught.” Jongdae glanced up at him.

“Yes, but I know their schedules fairly well. They’ll leave at a certain point to go train the junior disciples. We can investigate then if we really must.”

Jongdae nodded. “Depending on what we find there, we will continue forward. I’ll pick up food from the market on the way out, then. I’m not sure what we’ll need to survive.”

“I guess it’s situations like these where we should have practiced inedia.” Minseok chuckled offhandedly. He looked up to see what Jongdae’s reaction would have been, but he caught himself mid grab for the pickled radish as they locked eyes.

Jongdae’s eyes were wide and heavily focused on him, mouth slightly agape.

“Wh-What?” Minseok shrank back under the stare. He felt a shiver run up his spine but couldn’t tell if it was displeasure or something else.

Jongdae quickly fixed his face and looked back down at his bowl of soup, taking a spoonful as if nothing had happened. “I’ve never seen you laugh before.”

Minseok grimaced. “Well I wouldn’t call _that_ a laugh.”

“Even a laugh like that is still something.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m an emotionless monster.” Minseok grimaced further.

Jongdae simply looked to the side. Minseok could almost see his panicked sweat. He was trying desperately to be polite and not agree.

“Hey!” Minseok tossed his pickled radish at the cultivator, not caring if it messed up the other’s neat robes. “I laugh, too! I’m very funny and have a great sense of humor. I just… Never got to show it around you because you always put me in a bad mood.” He mumbled the last part, and as he did so, his cheeks turned red while embarrassingly admitting to such a thing.

“ _Clearly_ , you have a childish side. I believe you,” Jongdae said in a rather passive aggressive tone as he picked up the radish and placed it on his plate. He kept his shoulders square and his face neutral despite any hostility he might have felt in that moment.

Minseok’s mouth dropped at the latter’s statement. “I do not have a childish side!”

“Do, too.”

“Do not!”

“You do!”

“You!” Minseok went to raise his voice as his temple grew in veins of anger. He wanted to flip the table and draw his sword out on the man but restraining every last fiber in his body was taking a great deal of energy in him. So, he calmed down, shut his mouth and angrily ate his food in silence.

It was just a little while later when his thoughts started to clear and he couldn’t take his eyes off of Jongdae that he dared open his mouth again. It was a question that he wasn’t quite sure how to go about asking, but he just needed to know _something_.

“How do you feel about me?” he asked carefully.

Jongdae’s movements froze again, almost as if a quick sensation of lightning seized him for an instant. “Contrary to popular belief, I think you’re a fine cultivator with righteous morals.” Jongdae’s voice came out neutral, no inflection, no sign of favoring a word. Just simple and elegant.

“Yes, but that doesn’t tell me how you _feel._ ” Minseok could feel the impatience rising through his body. He knew Jongdae was purposefully avoiding the question.

“You’re asking a weird question. Does this have anything to do with this morning?” Jongdae raised a brow.

“No! This has nothing to do with—” Just as he went to explain himself, a group of rowdy men across the room cheered on and laughed with one another.

The two cultivators could pick up some of their conversation in that moment. 

“Yeah! Fuck em! Fuck those shit imperial guards!” 

“We aren’t afraid of them!” 

“They’ve been coming in and out of our town taking young villagers, as if we old men weren’t any good.” 

“We’re not that old!” 

A few continued to shout back and forth. From the conversation, it sounded like the Imperial guards were rounding up younger men and taking them to do labor. These men were all at least in their forties and their jealousy to do government work to get extra coin was quite apparent.

As the two cultivators listened closely to the conversation across the room, the waitress from earlier nearly jumped in front of them with a smile. “How’s everything, gentleman?!”

“Delicious, thank you.” Jongdae smiled handsomely and nodded his head slightly.

The woman’s cheeks burned bright with a swooning flush. “Can I get you anything else? Or will this be all?”

“Just some tea would be lovely.” Jongdae’s voice was so sweet it was almost sickening to Minseok.

“Coming right up!” She twirled off with her hanbok swaying easily. The dirty old men all eating bowls of congee eyed her as she walked back into the kitchen. Both Minseok and Jongdae snickered at them.

Minseok was about to drop the conversation from before and start eating again when Jongdae suddenly said, “I don’t hate you. If that’s what you’re looking for.”

Just as Minseok went to put a mouthful of congee into his mouth, its mushy white substance splattered back into his bowl and upon his agape face.

The first immediate thing that went through Minseok’s head was, _Well, why not? Why don’t you hate me?_

But he decided it was best to just stay silent. So, he ate his food quietly and listened obediently to anything that Jongdae had to say for the rest of their breakfast.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

It was a week’s worth of traveling by foot for the two to reach Mugunghwa Valley Sect. It was much too risky to fly on their swords; firstly because Minseok didn’t have enough spiritual energy to use his and secondly, because they would be at a higher risk of getting caught if they flew on Jongdae’s. So they settled on traveling by foot through forest and fields, far from the main roads.

Minseok’s feet ached and he needed ample rest after walking for just a few hours. He wondered if he had never started cultivation at the monastery, would he feel like this all the time as a mortal?

With his body constantly in a state of pain, having his mind stressed over only having a week before the envoy from the Lanling Jin Sect arrived made him extremely irritable. No amount of Jongdae’s soft voice and easy words were soothing to him. So he traveled far behind Jongdae, enough so that they were still in sight of each other but not enough to engage in light conversation.

He hated how stifled he felt around the man, how uncomfortable he felt not knowing what was going through his head. It was like his heart was always anxious and pounding because he was afraid of what would come next.

But on the fourth day of traveling without rest, Minseok began humming a song as his mind wandered. It was a song he couldn’t remember the lyrics to, but he remembered the tune as clear as day because he remembered how much he loved the voice. He just could not recall where he had heard it.

Without paying attention to where he was headed, he collided into Jongdae’s back.

“What the… Hey!” Minseok raised a hand to his nose and held it as he stepped back.

But Jongdae did not move, nor did he turn to see him.

“Let me stay by your side…” Jongdae suddenly whispered to himself.

Minseok raised a brow. “Huh?” He stepped forward to see what Jongdae was doing, but he was simply staring at the ground, his hair flowing like the strands of a willow in an easy wind.

“How do you know that song?” Jongdae turned to him with a severe look in his eyes, intention difficult to discern.

“I-I don’t know… I just.. It’s just stuck in my head these last few days…” He stepped back from being under that fierce stare.

Jongdae turned his head away, his hair falling over his cheeks to cover his expression. “Don’t… Don’t sing that… You’re not allowed to sing that song.” Minseok couldn’t see his fists balling underneath his robes or the light rouge of pink that sprinkled on the apples of his cheeks.

Minseok took in a deep breath, looked up at the sky and let out a strong breath of air. He bit his tongue back—there was no point in arguing, he would just be in a bad mood and that would be of no use. So he brushed his shoulder, rather roughly, as he walked on past Jongdae.

“No singing, no talking, no enjoyment, this is torture..” Minseok mumbled so very angrily under his breath as he stomped through the fields.

“ _I will throw away my immature, petty pride_ _  
__And fill the space with words_ _  
__Of love I was too awkward to say._ _  
__The long night melts away any hatred we had_  
 _And isn’t that enough?_ _  
_I will be better…”

Minseok froze. A gust of wind ran a chill up his spine as the voice flowed over to his ears.

That voice, so rarely did he get to hear it, but he could never deny how good it made him feel. Secretly, not even did he tell Junmyeon, his childhood best friend, that he had always admired Jongdae’s voice.

_10 years ago, Yonggang City (the capital)_

A war had broken out between demonic cultivators of the south and the cultivating sects up north. The war caused enough distress for the three main sects to get involved, including Minseok and the rest of the Hwarang. At that time the Hwarang only consisted of himself, Junmyeon and two predecessors of the current members. The war lasted for a year, not long by historical standards, but it took more lives of cultivators than any previous war. Many sects were wiped clean and others reduced to half or less. The major sects Jinju, Mugunghwa and Baekho were lucky to survive comparatively well, but their numbers still suffered like the rest. It was a meaningless war, but it happened, nonetheless.

The northern sects celebrated their victories for a week in the capital once the war had all been settled. That meant lots of festivities, lots of food, wine, and entertainment.

One of the main attractions that gathered hundreds upon hundreds was Lord Sungjeong the Honorable and the Auspicious; Flower Voice of Jinju Peony Sect. Jongdae was going to sing in the largest theater in the capital, the King and the Crown Prince would attend, and almost everyone who mattered would be there, too.

So when Minseok saw the flyers in the streets, he snickered to himself.

“You saw the posters, then?” Junmyeon asked as he was very intently looking through the hair accessories displayed in a vendor’s stall.

“‘Limited seats,’ huh?” Minseok scoffed, “Do these people realize that his sect is known for singing and that they use their voice to alter people’s emotions, surroundings and so forth?” Minseok crossed his arms on his chest as he scanned over the black-inked parchment paper that had been plastered on just about every building wall.

“Yes, but most of those techniques are forbidden anyways,” Junmyeon said absentmindedly as he inspected one of the hairpins rather closely. It was nearly impossible to tell if it was really jade or not.

Minseok rolled his eyes, despite the dark part of his heart that had always wanted to hear what Jongdae’s voice sounded like again. It’d been some time since he’d first heard it and he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t have the slightest yearning to hear it one more time.

“Before you go rolling your eyes, you should know that his voice is the most popular of all his sect. He’s their pride and joy because of how unique and beautiful it is and how original his pieces are. Tsk tsk tsk,” Junmyeon tutted. “It’s a shame, really, that he won’t be sect leader and that it gets handed down to the first-born female.” He tossed the hairpin carelessly away and began to walk off.

He was stopped by both the stall clerk, who nearly yelled at the top of his lungs at him, and the fact that Jongdae had been behind the both of them as they went to leave. In Jongdae’s hand was the thrown jade hairpin.

Junmyeon, with his mouth dry from having talked so much shit, awkwardly saluted the latter. Minseok barely offered anything respectful in his salute.

Jongdae said nothing, and his face was quite blank. He gave the pin back to the clerk and said a few sweet words of apologies and compensation.

Eventually he walked over to the two clearly-guilty cultivators with unidentifiable eyes.

“Even if the quality is not to your standards, that doesn’t stop the fact someone poured their time and effort into making something,” Jongdae said in an easy voice with his hands hidden in his sleeves in front of his chest.

Minseok rolled his eyes in annoyance. Junmyeon simply awkwardly laughed.

“Ah ha.. Yes, you’re right. I’ll take care the next time I go looking at accessories.” Junmyeon nodded his head to give Jongdae some face, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

Minseok simply brooded as they spoke, waiting quite impatiently for the conversation to end so they could leave. But Jongdae stood his ground—he had made his point, what else did he need?

“Are you young masters going to buy anything or not? Don’t just loiter around if you’re not, you’re scaring my customers away!” The stall clerk scolded the three of them, even raising a threatening hand to shoo them away. But what was a small stall clerk to high level cultivators?

Minseok looked back down at the table of hair accessories and spotted the hairpin Junmyeon had tossed. He fished out a few coins and slammed them on the cart, knowing that he paid _more_ than enough to satisfy the damn man.

Without many words spoken, Minseok smirked as he took the hairpin and dragged Jongdae away from the stall, Junmyeon following like a lost kitten.

“Here, since you’re so hung up on craftsmanship, then I’ll gift it to you. Now you can braid your hair and stick it up to tell the world you’re a married old woman.” Minseok had grabbed hold of Jongdae’s wrist and forced the light green hairpin into it. “It matches your eyes perfectly.” He smirked, clearly making this one huge joke. “A knock-off of the real thing.”

“Pfft!” Behind them, Junmyeon stifled a chuckle to himself at Minseok’s way of calling Jongdae a two-faced bitch!

Jongdae’s face remained unchanged, but one could tell that the anger rising up in him was enough to steam out of every hole in his head.

Minseok began walking away with an arm wrapped around Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Ahhhh, have fun singing tonight,” he laughed. “I’m sure everyone will just _love_ being hypnotized into thinking you’re actually any good.” He raised a hand and waved goodbye without so much as looking back. “Your sect can paralyze people, right? I’m sure it’s just the same!”

“Kim Minseok!” Jongdae suddenly called out. It made the two cultivators freeze from their mirth and a couple passersby to stare awkwardly. “I came here for a reason, to speak to you.” Jongdae’s eyes were covered by his bangs as his head hung low. His body was shaking and his fists were trembling at his sides. The anger had probably gotten to him today again, meaning they would probably break out in another duel. Minseok smirked at the idea and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

“I’m listening,” he said, snake-like, the mischievousness in his tone quite unfriendly.

Jongdae walked up to the two. Minseok immediately broke away from Junmyeon and unsheathed his sword by just a finger's breadth. But before Minseok could pull it out even further, Jongdae had shoved a piece of paper into his face.

He read it slowly. “Admission ticket…”

“Come see me sing.” Jongdae raised his head, his eyes again showing no sign of the anger he might have once felt. “Maybe it’ll clear that pig head of yours.”

Minseok frowned and smacked the ticket away. “Why would I bother going to that when you’re just gonna make everyone feel fake. It’s not real, it’s a temporary emotion you make them all feel. It’s not like your voice actually makes people feel anything.” Minseok stepped closer to Jongdae, trying to one up him, but it was difficult when the both of them were just about the same height.

Jongdae stepped forward, meeting Minseok head-on, their noses nearly touching as their breaths of anger and annoyance sprayed on their faces. “The Song of Paralysis is a forbidden art. No one is allowed to learn it anymore,” Jongdae seethed.

“Of course it is, a goody two-shoes like you would neeeever learn it,” Minseok smirked.

Jongdae bit his tongue back and simply turned on his heel and walked off.

Minseok scoffed at that behavior. “Heh, kitten got scared and ran off. No way I’d ever go to a place like that.” He mumbled the last sentence under his breath.

“You’re disappointed about not fighting him, aren’t you?” Junmyeon side eyed him.

 _“Am not!”_ Minseok snapped.

Junmyeon just shook his head. “I really thought I was about to break up another fight between the two of you.” He sighed. “You two really gotta talk that out. It’s been three years already and you can never have a good interaction with him.”

“It’s not my fault he’s all righteous and ridiculously powerful enough to always meet us at night hunts… Wait a minute, why didn’t he offer _you_ a ticket?” Minseok asked as he looked at the parchment on the ground.

“Oh, I already got a ticket from my father. The sect heads are to attend, which includes their more respected disciples as well. Meaning you should probably go for the sake of being the first disciple of Mugunghwa Valley.”

“ _Che_..” Minseok tutted, “Like hell I’ll go!”

So he said, but as he wandered outside the theater building contemplating just what he was doing before the opera started, he wondered where he went wrong. Everyone had gone inside already. Junmyeon sat with his father Jung Yunho in one of the mezzanine booths, as did the rest of the sect leaders and their families. Lower cultivators sat in the pits, all eagerly talking amongst themselves and waiting for the show to begin.

Minseok peeked through the entrance and saw that the stage was very simple, a spring plum blossom tree painted on the panels in the back. Dark wood outlined and accented the theater quite beautifully. A thin muslin rug was rolled out, painted with flowers that only those in the mezzanine could see. On stage right sat a woman, her eyes closed and her hanbok bright white and green with a red ribbon on her breast. It was the future sect leader of Jinju Peony Sect, Kim Sooyoung. Kim Jongdae’s younger sister. In front of her was a gayageum, made of a dark brown wood and gleaming silver strings, adorned with a beautiful yellow tassel that had a white jade pendant of their sect’s peony crest on it. She seemed like an actual doll, sitting there so still and so pale in the dim theater lights.

The doors of the theater were wide open, only beaded tassels hung from the two entryways. Any of the theater workers who had been checking tickets had long since gone inside, knowing that Kim Jongdae would soon make his appearance.

Minseok paced frantically for another solid moment, his heart panicking at the thought that someone would see him skulking around. He would rather be caught dead than seen here. But just as he was about to turn and leave, the sound of the gayageum strummed. It was different than normal, it sounded more like the connected notes of a guqin than the single plucks of opera music. It was like liquid, flowing as water down a stream. Then… a voice followed, easy and clear.

Immediately, Minseok froze and relaxed his tense shoulders. The voice was as he remembered it, smooth but this time it was almost… melancholic. The lyrics were bittersweet, but he had never heard anything so poetic since reading scriptures from across the sea.

 _“Close your eyes,”_ the voice sang.

Minseok instinctively closed his eyes and took a few steps to hear the sound better. His back met with the wall of the theater and he stayed there, a hand on his sword and the other hanging listlessly at his side.

No one could resist being drawn in. The sun had set a while ago, so many families that couldn’t afford a ticket had gathered by their own buildings, sharing snacks as they listened to the melody. Everyone was in a blissful trance, no one spared from the intoxicating voice that came from Kim Jongdae.

Inside the theater, as Jongdae sang to his heart’s content, he spotted something flickering in the light of the doorway. Past the audience and toward the entrances, he could see the familiar outline of a pink sword and its red tassel.

The sword of someone he had hoped would come.

 _“Let’s meet at the end of our memories…”_ Jongdae’s voice rose higher and higher before it changed keys and the song moved forward.

The crowd was reduced to pools of goosebumps and euphoria at the sound. The women, young and old, all sighed and gasped as they watched a faint smile on Jongdae’s lips. His eyes were red with tears from the emotions of the song, but his small smile seemed so sad that it pulled at the strings of all the women there. Even Junmyeon felt himself feeling bad for Jongdae’s character.

 _“I probably won’t ever be able to forget all the promises I couldn’t keep_ … _”_

Minseok’s hand tightened on his sword listening to how loud and how clear Jongdae’s voice was… It was lovely.

_“I’ll be there…”_

He finished with the very last ounces of air within him, the gayageum strumming to a similar note as him. It was beauty, sheer and utter beauty.

But Minseok dashed off, afraid to hear another song or that someone would catch him outside the entrance.

The audience roared and the women all sighed and enthusiastically cheered Jongdae on. Even Junmyeon found himself a little on the edge of his seat, clapping as the two on stage bowed.

Jongdae peeked up as he bowed at his audience. There was no sign of Kim Minseok at the entrance. It was only slightly disappointing, but the smile on his heart never faded for a second.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

A decade later, the two resumed their journey after Jongdae finished the song. Minseok said not a word, biting his tongue. After listening to the song, he remembered how he knew it, and who the one singing it had been. He remembered hearing Jongdae’s voice whenever he would go unconscious in the spirit world, and he would find that voice singing the song.

He wanted to know why Jongdae would sing that song, or at least, why was he singing it in the spirit realm?

It would have been ideal if he could stop asking so many questions in his head all the time and get at least a few answered. Even listening to Jongdae’s song a little while ago helped him clear his head.

In a softer tone than usual, Minseok spoke up beside Jongdae. “Hey.. can you.. sing another song?”

Jongdae took a moment before responding, “…What kind of song?”

“A-Any… I just want to clear my head.”

Jongdae nodded. He took a moment to peruse through his mental repertoire before choosing one and sharing a soft melody.

Minseok felt mortified asking for a song, but those feelings of embarrassment quickly washed away. The more Jongdae sang, the less his thoughts screamed at him and the more he could only focus on the soothing voice and poetic language.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "and that's how i met your father"  
> "dad, that's an awful story"  
> "..."


	9. 8

“Okay, once we get past the barrier into the sect, we have exactly two hours before the Hwarang return to the rooms for the night. So we need to check my room as quickly as possible to know if we need to search their rooms or not.”

Jongdae nodded, his face firm.

“I don’t know what we’re going to find, so please, just bear with me. Try and follow my lead and stay as close as possible. The last thing we need is a watchman wandering about and you to get caught.”

Jongdae nodded again, this time with more conviction.

“All right, concealment spell?” He looked to Jongdae expectantly.

Jongdae raised a hand with a two finger sign. Their spiritual energies were masked, so that none could detect them.

They both nodded, then headed straight into the thick forest of the sect.

Anyone could easily get lost without knowing exactly where the sect was. There was no need for an illusion array to keep one wandering in circles when the dense forest was enough on its own.

Minseok and Jongdae both sprinted, not at top speeds of course, but enough for Minseok to feel the cool air against his cheeks and sting his eyes. The brushing of branches of and leaves against his skin and robes left him feeling so nostalgic that he nearly forgot what he was running for.

Each year his sect held races in the forest, another test of agility and speed, but really it was for the disciples to get in some good competition. The forest was a dangerous place, filled with demons, ghosts, monsters and twists and turns that could kill if not taken properly. What better place than to test your skills—blindfolded? When Minseok was still training, he would land first place. Nearly ten years in a row he won first place until he had fulfilled his training and stepped down. As a proper and fine cultivator of the Mugunghwa Valley Sect, he left the racing to the younger disciples.

Even if he did not have his spiritual powers to make him glide through the thicket of the forest like nothing, he still had his memories. Minseok knew this forest like the back of his hand. All the nooks and crannies were no secret to him, so leading Jongdae safely through would be a piece of cake. The smell of mugunghwa flowers became stronger the closer they were. Even if the forest was masked mostly in darkness, Minseok could maneuver around it with his eyes closed. 

They reached the outskirts of the sect with little time to spare. A wall of mugunghwa bushes reaching as tall as a building stood before them. There was no wall of wood or stone to keep anyone out, but of branches upon branches of mugunghwa shrub. This wall of bush was enchanted to ensnare trespassers, but Minseok knew the secret and where it was weakest. He led Jongdae up the wall and the two of them gave a quick glance to the other side of the wall. It was a large sect, built half into the side of the valley.

The sweet smell of the mugunghwa flower wafted to their noses and Minseok took a deep breath in. After all the years he spent in the sect, he would never get tired of that smell.

This side of the sect held most of the physical training halls, for martial arts and swordsmanship. To their left they could hear the chants of disciples and the swinging of their practice swords in complete uniform on an open training ground. It was a younger group of disciples, so most had not been to the Cave of Swords to pick out their spiritual sword yet.

Leading that group of disciples was Hwarang Do Kyungsoo, third of the Hwarang. He was an ice cold figure, standing lean and tall in his white and red robes. Minseok nearly felt bad for the disciples. He knew how much of a hard-ass Kyungsoo was with his students. But he was the best swordsman in the sect, so it was only natural he would lead classes. 

In another hall to their right, the chants and screams of female disciples practicing martial arts could be heard. Bae Seulgi usually didn’t teach this late at night, unlike Do Kyungsoo. She was often more lenient with her students, but harsh whenever a serious mistake was made, which was what it sounded like based on their screams. Hwarang Bae Seulgi, fourth of Hwarang, was a woman of simple pleasures and lived for the thrill of night hunting. She had stuck to Minseok’s side the moment she entered the sect, mostly because Minseok was the quickest to help her and teach her a few extra things the masters typically didn’t. Seulgi was a favorite, of course, so many sneered at her when she was anointed one of the Hwarang at the tender age of twenty. But there was no denying that Seulgi clawed her way to the top with both power and skill. She may have been close with Minseok, the head of their order, but Seulgi possessed a vast pool of spiritual power. Anyone who opposed her and tried to fight for her position would end up in the infirmary for at least a week.

“Seulgi should be meditating by now. I don’t know why she’s in the training hall so late. I don’t know if this will affect our time. But Kyungsoo has less than an hour before he finishes up with his students.”

Jongdae nodded.

“There will be watchmen at the entrances right now. Later tonight, a few will climb up the walls as lookouts, but they’re pretty lackadaisical. They’ll take their sweet time, we so rarely expect trouble… Okay.. The rest of the junior disciples will be in the dining hall or in the living quarters to settle down for the night… Everyone is mostly indoors by now, we shouldn’t run into any trouble.. But just be careful. I know everyone here fairly well, but I can’t predict one hundred percent of their behaviors. Most should be in the capital anyways, preparing for the Lanling inspections.”

“Kim Minseok…”

Minseok turned to find that Jongdae’s face was solemn.

“You’re the one who has to be careful,” he said with a gentle tone before jumping up and landing on top of the building with the screaming girls practicing martial arts.

Minseok stayed there for a moment and watched as Jongdae snuck away into the shadows, not making a single sound as he did so.

“Then don’t just leave me…” he mumbled under his breath and quickly followed.

Jongdae didn’t know where Minseok’s room was, so he waited once they arrived at the main pavilion where the sect leader and his family lived. Minseok was lucky enough to have a room in the estate because of Jung Yunho. After Minseok had agreed to leave with him from the monastery, he was treated quite handsomely. He had basically become part of the family.

Junmyeon and Minseok became close because of these living arrangements, nearly brothers at this point of their lives. Junmyeon was an only child, so he treated Minseok heavily like an older brother even though there was just a year’s difference. Sect Leader Jung’s wife had died not too long after she had given birth to Junmyeon, and when the old sect leader, Jung Yunho’s father, had passed away, the sect family estate became rather lonely with just the three of them. Neither Junmyeon nor Minseok had found wives either, so that left Sect Leader Jung with a heavy heart most of the time.

Jongdae and Minseok arrived on the grounds of the estate, walking carefully along the rooftops to avoid any of the servants and disciples walking around.

They landed above his room, but Minseok’s legs were growing weak with the constant climbing and jumping so Jongdae held his arms out for Minseok to jump into. Minseok gritted his teeth and nearly shouted at the top of his lungs for Jongdae to stop joking around—instead, he furiously waved him off to get him away. Jongdae complied by stepping aside and hid his hands in the sleeves of his robes.

Minseok took a deep breath before readying himself to jump down, but as he crouched slightly to give himself momentum, his right leg gave out beneath him and he stumbled onto his rear and fell over the side. He was unable to control himself or prep his body properly for the fall. When he thought he’d meet cold hard ground and maybe a broken tailbone, two arms cushioned his fall and held him upright.

Minseok’s eyes slowly opened to find himself staring face to face with Kim Jongdae’s light gray eyes.

Jongdae smiled softly for him. “Are you okay?” he asked. Instead of letting Minseok go, he kept him close and supported him in his arms.

“I-I…” _I’m fine_ is what he wanted to say, but the sound of a servant walking around the corner of the wooden panels alerted them both and they rushed into the room.

Minseok’s cheeks felt hot and his heart stammered against his chest. He panted as if he had just run a marathon, but Jongdae was fine. In fact, he stood right by the screen doors and listened as the servant walked by. Maybe it was all that running in the forest prior that had him so weak now. Yes, that must have been it.

When the coast was clear, Jongdae nodded toward the still-panting Minseok.

Minseok stood up straight and composed himself before looking around the room. His room had been as he left it, a mess of books, papers, overturned tables, and unkempt sheets. It was like a disaster of a storm had blown through. He wondered for a moment why it was like this, trying to remember for the life of him what could have caused him to put his usually neat and tidy room in such disarray.

No matter how hard he thought, only fragments of that night came to his mind. There was a lot of pushing… A lot of… hands grabbing and choking…

Minseok raised a hand to his head. Trying to remember what happened sent waves of pain through it.

“What’s the matter?” Jongdae asked, quickly at Minseok’s side.

“N-Nothing… I just have.. a headache,” he said quite unconvincingly and waved Jongdae off. But the worried expression on Jongdae’s face was firm.

Minseok insisted that he was fine and began to walk around the room, pretending as if he was looking for clues, when really, he was just a dizzy mess on the inside.

“Someone’s been here already,” Jongdae whispered not too long after.

Minseok craned his neck, thinking he misheard him. “What? How do you know?”

“Look.” He pointed to a few scratches on the walls. “Someone’s been in here to repair things.”

Minseok walked over to the wall closest to his bed and inspected the gashes that had been sanded over and painted.

“Actually, I scratched that into the wall with my sword when I was young. Sect Leader had it repaired years ago,” Minseok said with an airiness about him, it was a sweet memory despite how embarrassed he was.

“Then what about these?” Jongdae moved to the next wall and the dresser there. Slashes and blows had been burrowed into the wood.

Minseok thought for a good moment before saying, “That’s from wrestling around with Junmyeon. This one’s from—well that isn’t familiar. But these! These are from some of the girls I brought over.”

Jongdae’s face immediately darkened as Minseok continued to get detailed with the story. Something about how he tried doing this and that but it ended up in a different way. Minseok seemed oblivious to Jongdae’s rising anger and only stopped when a hard hand pushed him backwards.

“What?!” he snapped at Jongdae.

Jongdae’s jaw was tight as he gritted his teeth.

“She kept changing her mind! It’s not like I actually did anything to her!” Minseok pushed him backwards. “What’s wrong with you?! I’m telling you! There was consent! Your stupid sect motto is all about that, I get that, but listen to what I’m saying!”

“You said there were others?”

“…Huh? Yeah, I had a couple girls over.” Minseok said as if it should have been normal. The only thing not normal about it was that he never had the chance to sleep with any of them! But seeing how angry Jongdae was getting over this made a mischievous thought flash through his mind. Minseok smirked and said, “But the second one, we did it right where you’re standing. She begged for me to slow down but what was I to do? It felt sooooooo good—”

Jongdae lunged at him and shoved him to the ground. He tried everything to get his hands on the one straddled underneath him but Minseok fought back just as fiercely, maybe a little too fiercely. He knew that Jongdae could easily overpower him at that moment, so why was he even bothering to do any of this?

As the two struggled around on the floor, they failed to hear the doors to his room slide open. It was only when it knocked on the door frame after closing did they freeze and look at the intruder.

Faces flushed with both frustration and mild terror, the two relaxed their hold on each other and stared into the eyes of the man standing at the entrance.

It was Hwarang Do Kyungsoo.

No one made a sound for a while. Kyungsoo just stood there with a hand ready to draw his sword and eyes wide in utter… disbelief? Minseok had never seen his face so expressive.

Jongdae quickly got off Minseok and they scrambled to their feet, still not sure of what to say.

“Senior Kyungsoo, is someone there?” The soft voice of a woman came from just outside the door, right before she opened it.

Once she was inside and the door closed again, she walked right up to the frozen Kyungsoo.

“Senior Kyungsoo?” she asked as she approached carefully. It was odd for him to just stand there and not do anything.

But as she got closer to Kyungsoo, she saw the two men standing on the other side of the room. One of whom she had not seen in over a month, but that was because she presumed him to be dead.

“Leader Minseok...” she breathed out, her voice quivering as if she had just seen a ghost for the first time.

Minseok uncomfortably chuckled, “S-Seulgi, it’s nice to see you.” He nodded.

But Kyungsoo was on edge, he drew his sword slightly and Jongdae quickly stepped in front of Minseok. Minseok was taken aback by that, so much to the point that he could only focus his attention on Jongdae now.

“B-But… But you’re dead..” Seulgi said breathlessly as she rubbed her eyes. It really seemed as if this was all fake. Her eyes were red after rubbing them in disbelief and large tears welled.

Minseok didn’t have the heart to respond to her and just stayed in his spot. It wasn’t until a moment later that he felt a warm body squeeze their arms around his did he actually say anything.

He placed a hand on top of Seulgi’s head and said, “I’m here now. Don’t worry.”

This seemed to only make her cry harder against his chest. But as she did so, Kyungsoo slowly walked over. He was clearly more skeptical about this all, so Jongdae stood his ground against him—even though he had just been bypassed by Bae Seulgi. She wasn’t a member of the Hwarang for nothing.

Once Kyungsoo was close enough to Jongdae, he simply gave Jongdae a glare and that was enough to make him back off to the side. Kyungsoo figured if this was a real threat, there would have been more swords drawn by now.

Minseok did not expect another set of warm arms to be wrapped around him and only paled slightly when he noticed that it was Kyungsoo doing so. Kyungsoo was a rather… steely kind of man, he had a hard time showing his emotions.

In a shaky tone, he said, “We all thought you were dead..”

Minseok felt every last bit of pity for his friends. This must have been one heck of a whiplash moment, losing your friend only to see them alive and walking around on two feet almost a month later. What if he had lost Junmyeon? How would he have reacted in this situation?

“I knew it. I just knew that you couldn’t be dead.. I knew you were still out there..” Seulgi said through hiccups and disturbed breaths. Even Kyungsoo put a gentle hand on her back to comfort her.

How could Minseok even dare suspect these friends of his? How dare he?

With a solemn look on his pale and sickly face, Minseok looked up to see Jongdae standing awkwardly off to the side. His arms hung beside him rather than folded neatly in his sleeves.

For some reason, Minseok’s stomach churned at the sight of Jongdae in his gloomy corner. Something didn’t seem right with him. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but how would that look in front of these two juniors of his who knew he hated Jongdae with all of his heart, mind, and soul?

“Junmyeon said your body was confiscated by demons. What happened to you? Where have you been?!” Seulgi asked in a rush of words once they had both released him.

“Uhh..”

“Why are you with him?” Kyungsoo asked as the more collected of the two.

“My friends, uh,” They both cornered him, pushing him towards the bed.

“You look sick and so scrawny, are you eating right? Are you okay? How long have you been here?” Seulgi pumped out each question like she had been waiting so long to ask them.

“Why can’t we sense your spiritual essence?” Kyungsoo berated.

“Where is your bow?” Seulgi added.

Eventually Minseok stumbled over onto the mess of the bed, his clearly disheveled face was not getting through to them.

“Hwarang Bae Seulgi, Hwarang Do Kyungsoo. We have just come from a very long week of traveling. Kim Minseok is unwell and feels uncomfortable with you smothering him.” Jongdae spoke in a clear voice behind them He even put a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder to garner their attention.

Both Kyungsoo and Seulgi looked at one another and then back to Minseok, finally taking in the displeased look on his face and the light layer of sweat that coated his skin.

Seulgi’s voice trembled with a gasp, “No.. Y-You’re not… a living corpse.. Are you?”

“No, Seulgi, I’m not. It’s… complicated.” He sighed after coming up with that.

“When we hugged just now, I could hardly feel any of your spiritual energy. What’s wrong with you?” Kyungsoo asked as he sat beside Minseok, grabbing his hand and duly sending him some of his spiritual energy.

Minseok heaved a heavy and deep-rooted sigh, of course he wanted to tell them. But he knew he shouldn’t go all out and make irrational decisions to just trust them.

For another opinion, Minseok looked back at Jongdae who was beside Seulgi. However, there was an unreadable expression on his face, so he went ahead and said, “I-I.. I trust them.”

“I wouldn’t,” Jongdae said.

“If I can trust you, who I loathed before all this, then you’ll just have to trust me on this. I trust them.”

Jongdae said nothing in response. Instead, he retreated into himself and inspected another part of the room while Seulgi and Kyungsoo sat on the bed and listened to the story.

About how he had definitely died and Kim Jongdae had held onto his spirit for three weeks. Now he was mostly a human shell, only a mere quarter of his spirit resided inside. He was just a bit weaker than a mortal, but it wasn’t like he was totally useless. His meridians were a mess, like that of a qi deviation, not even constant flows of spiritual power could straighten them out. Now, he was on a mission to find out what had happened to him. 

What he left out was the spirit realm he spent all that time in and that he was mostly on a mission to get back there and mend his soul back to one piece. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, but he thought, maybe, just maybe, with Jongdae by his side helping him—it was possible. Every little thing Jongdae was doing for him burned into his mind like hot iron on leather. They made his heart feel restricted and uncomfortable, but he knew deep down that it was a good feeling. He knew that Jongdae was doing well by him.

When Kyungsoo and Seulgi had been in the middle of debating something after he had finished his story, Minseok looked up to find Jongdae aimlessly looking about the room. A pang of guilt washed his chest when he thought about how he had teased the latter just a moment ago about messing around with girls and then proceeded to fight about it.

“Last night, someone broke in here,” Kyungsoo said in that same monotone voice.

Minseok turned his attention to the two beside him and raised a brow. “What happened?”

“The night you left, there was a scuffle in your room. Someone had broken in and attacked you. Nobody knew what was going on until you escaped and alerted the watchmen. You ran off and we followed but we only found you an hour later on the road to the capital.. dead. You were going to meet Sect Leader Jung there.” Seulgi mostly spoke in a soft voice. “After we failed trying to call your spirit back, we were instructed to head back to the sect and make sure everything was alright. We cleaned your room, had it repaired and everything but a week later…”

Kyungsoo picked up her story. “Someone broke into the sect and began raiding your room. We chased them off, thankfully, but last night was the second attempt. We haven’t had a chance to properly investigate it, so Seulgi and I came to inspect it personally. Do you have any idea of what they might be looking for?”

Minseok shook his head with a heavy heart. “I don’t. Most of my memories the night I was attacked are missing. It’s painful for me to clamber through and recall what happened, too.”

Seulgi let out a muffled sob. “Don’t worry, Leader Minseok! You’re here now and we’ll protect you, we’ll help you get your memories back!” That youthful air of hers was seldom apparent, as she hardly ever acted her age. But her fist pump of confidence and glimmer of hope even made Kyungsoo’s eyes twinkle with determination as he nodded.

“No. I’m sorry but.. I can’t involve you two in this.”

Kyungsoo snorted, again another sound Minseok had never heard him make. “Of course not. Because you’re the leader of the Hwarang and you can do this on your own. For once, be humble and let us help you.”

That was a lot coming from someone who often acted independently from the rest of them.

Yes, Minseok was quite guilty of being a proud cultivator and often went solo when it should have been a group effort. But this was different. This could potentially be the end of their lives and he wasn’t about to risk that.

“You don’t understand. The fewer people I have with me, the better. No one is to know that I’m alive, do you understand? I might be pursued right now and the last thing I need is to have your necks slit. You can help me by keeping your eyes out here, keep the sect safe. We still don’t know what’s going on in the south, nor do we know who’s behind this. Any of us could be in danger. Jongdae and I—” Right when Jongdae’s name was mentioned without title, honorifics or surname, their faces became grave and they both shot him glares.

Jongdae, a master at hiding his emotions, simply went about his business and pretended as if he had not seen them.

“You two have gotten _quite_ close,” Seulgi observed.

“He could be the perpetrator,” Kyungsoo added.

“No, no, no.” Minseok waved his hands and gathered their attention back to him. “He’s the one who brought me back to life. I doubt he would kill me just to go through all that trouble to bring me back.”

Both Kyungsoo and Seulgi turned up their noses and focused their attention on their leader.

_What children.. Have they always been like this? Have I always been like this? Since when have I always been so sweet with them?_

The answer was ‘always.’ Minseok had the biggest and softest spot for his Hwarang juniors. Junmyeon was practically his brother so he wasn’t as sweet, but Kyungsoo and Seulgi were always particularly spoiled even if he never noticed it himself. Kyungsoo was only a couple of years younger than himself while Seulgi was nearly a whole decade younger. Of course, he would dote on them like the younger siblings he thought of them as.

“Young Master Kim stays with me. He’s the only one I’ll be keeping by my side for now. Please.. I’ve… I’ve seen a few things and I know you can hold yourselves well, but for now. Just stay out of sight and stay oblivious to me. Until we know what’s going on, I won’t ask anything of you, do I make myself clear?” His voice hardened and the two younger Hwarang immediately nodded with salutes.

It still didn’t stop Seulgi’s snide remark of, “I’m surprised he even talks. After he took his vow of silence.”

Minseok’s face knitted in confusion.

“You must not have heard, a couple weeks before your death Lord Sungjeong there made a vow to never sing again. It was completely out of nowhere. But you were so busy those last few weeks, I doubt you had any time to pay attention to him.” Her voice was less than kind, but Minseok understood where her heart was coming from.

“Bae Seulgi!” Minseok reprimanded.

“..But you know, Sect Leader Jung would be thrilled to know you’re alive..” She hung her head and a pout jutted from her bottom lip. “He’s.. he’s missed you a lot,” Seulgi said in a meek voice, smoothly trying to ask if she could at least tell one person.

“Not even Sect Leader Jung can know. It puts his life more at risk, do you understand?”

“Yes.” Seulgi hung her head in disappointment.

“For now, help me search the room. There must be something in here if they keep coming back for it.” Minseok rose to his feet with an energetic pop. “Don’t leave anything unturned.”

The two juniors clad in their bright colored robes got up and began searching the disheveled room. It wasn’t a terribly large room, but they were smart enough to not jumble in someone else’s search area.

They all searched the room for two hours before Minseok sat down on his bed and thought about where he would have hidden something secret, a place so well out of sight that even in his hazy memory, he would forget.

“Do you know what we might be looking for?” Kyungsoo asked as he rummaged through a few scrolls of uninteresting topics.

“I don’t..”

Seulgi asked this time, “Not even if it’s a piece of paper, a weapon? A seal? Some sort of treasure?”

“I really don’t know…” Minseok’s voice came out weaker than the last. He really was at a loss here.

“Then..” Seulgi continued, “Where do you keep your pornography books?”

All three men in the room froze, their faces black with an uncomfortable sort of shock.

“Aha, S-Seulgi… Th-That’s not really—”

“I imagine you have it really well hidden since none of us have come across it and we’ve all almost done a lap over each other’s search piles.” Her voice was light and filled with what seemed like innocence.

“I don’t have pornography books in here,” Minseok managed to say despite how ridiculous this situation was. And that also wasn’t a lie, he really didn’t have pornography books in his room—they were all in Junmyeon’s. And they shared like the good brothers they were.

“Oh, there’s no need to be bashful. I know it’s a normal thing amongst men. Women have them, too! Even I have a couple.”

All three men in the room nearly spat blood with how blunt the damn woman was. Minseok didn’t know whether to laugh it off or just cry. Just what the hell was Seulgi even going on about?

“No, I think you’re misunderstanding someth—”

“Of course, the ones women tend to like are a lot different. They’re not really raunchy stories of nobles and maids and their ‘forbidden loves.’ They’re more like.. stories based on real people. There’s this anonymous cultivator who makes pornography about cultivators and most of them have an uncanny similarity to cultivators in real life. She made one about these two handsome friends that have very similar characteristics to the Twin Fangs of Jinju Peony. They have a threesome in that one, and at one point one of them misses and accidentally puts it into the other guy’s hole and they start going at it rather than the girl—”

Sensing a menacing aura behind her, she stopped talking to turn and found Kyungsoo looking down at her with severe eyes. Minseok had somehow melted to the ground, this was a little too intimate information for him at the moment. Jongdae just kind of sat on a half-broken chair thinking about the fact that this was a story about _his_ two best friends. He raised a hand to his forehead and held it for a second.

“S-Senior Kyungsoo… W-Would you like to see it for yourself?” Seulgi asked skittishly.

Kyungsoo placed a firm hand on her shoulder, his grip was tight, but she really had no idea what he wanted. Did he want her to shut up or did he actually want that pornography book?!

“Wait a second…” Minseok mumbled to himself. “Seulgi’s right. I might have hidden it with the pornography!”

Jongdae seemed to lose all color in his face hearing that.

“See!” Seulgi beamed as she ignored whatever trauma Kyungsoo was going through.

“But not here. I don’t have those kinds of things here. Junmyeon has a secret stash in his room that we would share. That spot is well hidden, I might have… It’s the only place I can think of that nobody would dare go!”

Everyone in the room snapped out of their shock and nodded at one another.

“Senior Kyungsoo and I will leave first and make sure you have a clear path. You two follow when I give the signal.” Seulgi’s voice was clear and quite professional now, a complete one-eighty from the enthusiasm she’d shown before.

She and Kyungsoo nodded before slipping out. Both Jongdae and Minseok waited by the closed doors, face to face and listening out for her signal.

A sharp and high pitched whistle echoed through the wooden panels. Without a second’s thought, Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s wrist and pulled him out of his room and back into the night.

It was a quick brisk walk to Junmyeon’s room, with little obstructing them.

Once they were all in Junmyeon’s dark room, the smell of mugunghwa flowers was strong. Junmyeon always did smell a little more of perfume than normal. Minseok made haste and went to the small vase growing bamboo on top of his dresser. He lifted the shoot up and the whole thing came clean out, dirt included. It was a fake bamboo and vase, and inside were a couple of valuables of Junmyeon’s, including a key. Minseok took the key and went toward the bookshelf against the wall. He pulled a few books out and found a small hole to turn the key in.

“That’s it? That’s how well hidden your—”

A click sounded from Minseok’s fiddling and he smiled at once. Another louder click sounded, then an even deeper one that they could feel vibrate the floorboards beneath their feet.

Minseok placed the books back and walked over to Junmyeon’s neat and tidy bed, moving it to the side with Jongdae’s help and kneeling where it was.

One of the panels in the floor was loose. It was small, but it wasn’t anything one couldn’t fit their hands into. Minseok removed the panel and gently placed it to the side. Beneath the floorboards were piles of hay neatly stacked for insulation and a decently large chest. He pulled out the chest and sat it in his lap, then unlatched the hooks on the edge and opened it. It wasn’t terribly big nor was the collection any bigger, but the ones that they shared were quite the rarities amongst many.

Seulgi hovered over his shoulder, trying her best to get a look at what titles were in the box.

But to Minseok’s pleasure, he had been right. Something he had never seen in the chest was shoved in the corner of the books, almost like it was hiding itself. Minseok pulled it out and let it dangle in his hands.

It was a small jade pendant of some sort. The string was rough in texture, like that of rope but blue in color. It was made of a special kind of rope—spirit binding rope. The pendant itself was light green, and carved into small, fine shapes. Minseok had remembered seeing this before, on Jung Kai’s waist belt—even Zitao had one. He held the pendent fully in his hands, hoping to feel any trace of demonic energy or some sort of power that might have surged in it. But alas, he could not feel anything.

“Do you feel anything from this?” Minseok asked as he handed the pendant over to Jongdae.

Jongdae fiddled with the small thing in his hands for a little while before shaking his head solemnly. He passed the object off to Seulgi who had nothing to say about it either.

Minseok sighed heavily. “Well, at least we know now that this is what they were looking for. But what it’s for, I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“It kinda looks like a charm,” Seulgi suggested as she handed the pendant over to Kyungsoo. It wasn’t quite the normal-looking charm.

“Or a seal,” Kyungsoo said in a monotone voice.

“But to where?” Seulgi questioned right after.

Minseok mumbled so softly under his breath that it was difficult even for the cultivators’ heightened senses to properly understand. “I think I know where.”

 _This pendant has something to do with the spirit realm. I must have found it and took it as proof that whoever was in charge of this was up to no good. I knew I’d be pursued, so I hid it in the least obvious place, a place that was not my room. That way when my attackers came, they would never know. Or maybe I hoped that Junmyeon would find it… If that’s the case then… I must not have suspected him in the first place_ …

Minseok ruminated while Seulgi, Jongdae and Kyungsoo engaged in what they thought was an inquisitive conversation about the topic at hand. But they were getting nowhere and it wasn’t enough to have Minseok pay attention. He knew where he had seen this pendant before, but he couldn’t tell anyone… At least, not yet.

“You’ll stay the night at least, right?” Seulgi’s calm voice drowned out Minseok’s thoughts. 

He looked up at her and blinked a few times. Then he turned his gaze to Jongdae and Kyungsoo. They all seemed to expect something of him.

“U-Uh—”

“The Mugunghwa Festival starts tomorrow—you have to at least stay for the dancer’s parade,” she seemed to almost plead.

“K-Kim Jongdae and I have important business to attend to and—”

“It’s late,” Kyungsoo simply said, cutting him off and keeping it curt.

Jongdae sighed out, “It is getting late. You’ve expended a lot of energy tonight. Let’s stay hidden here for now and we can sneak out while everyone is attending the festival tomorrow.”

Minseok sighed to himself before responding. He looked between the three people and then to the pendant in his hands. “All right, fine. But as soon as we leave, you never saw us, understood? This never happened tonight.”

Both Seulgi and Kyungsoo nodded. “Understood.”

It wasn’t long before Seulgi and Kyungsoo left the two to settle down for the night. Since it was so late, it was easy to sneak themselves bowls of leftover soup.

They decided they would sleep in Junmyeon’s room, since Minseok’s room was a hot spot for raids. The last thing they needed was their necks slit in the middle of the night. Jongdae refused to let Minseok sleep anywhere but the bed and chose to sleep in a chaise lounge which was a bit too small for his body. But before anyone went to sleep, Jongdae and Minseok sat side by side on the bed, Jongdae holding Minseok’s wrist and sending over his spiritual energy as steadily as he could.

“What’s that face for?” Minseok asked in a hushed tone.

“What face?” 

“That face! You’re scrunching your perfect little eyebrows! You’ve been doing it all night.” What he wanted to say was that Jongdae had been making such a serious face since Seulgi and Kyungsoo appeared. 

“I…”

“Kim Jongdae, if there’s something you’re worried about, I think this is the most important time for you to tell me about it. We’re in this together, whether we like it or not.”

Jongdae frowned at this.

“It’s stupid.”

“Fine, I promise I won’t judge you.” 

“...I thought.. you’d leave me for them.”

Minseok tilted his head, genuinely baffled, “What? Why would I do that?” 

“They’re your friends… I figured you’d naturally want to be with them instead.”

Minseok snorted, “Well, I could, but I’m not going to just bring you all the way here for you to leave suddenly.”

Minseok watched as Jongdae tried to hide a smile, his perfect handsome smile that made Minseok want to keep staring. The moment he caught himself starting to smile from staring too long, he cleared his throat and said: “Besides, you’re the one with all the supplies, I’m stuck with you regardless.”

Minseok was getting accustomed to the feeling of Jongdae’s spiritual energy flowing through him. It reminded him of the way petals float on a calm river, their bowl shapes never breaking and simply gliding along the serene water. His meridians had no intention of evening out, but at least Jongdae’s spiritual energy was a distraction from it all.

Sometime during their session, Minseok fell asleep and his body slumped over onto Jongdae’s shoulder. It was a pity, really, he had fallen asleep before he could tell him a few things. Things that were important and he was thinking hard about how to word them or if he should even bring them up. Like what was this business about Jongdae vowing to never sing again? He’d clearly sang a few times for Minseok already.

But those words would have to wait for another time. All that mattered at the moment was that he got his sleep in the most comfortable position. Even if that was against Jongdae’s shoulder for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wish i did more with all of the hwarang together, i really love them, they're so cool and stupid and i just :(


	10. 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: light violence, bullying

Minseok and Jongdae woke the next morning long before Seulgi or Kyungsoo could join them again. It was with much debate between the two, but they spent a good majority of their early morning in the library of the sect. Minseok wanted to get in there before one of the junior disciples decided to wander in and start their studies. But they had little to worry about since the Mugunghwa Festival required many of the disciples’ help. The sect wasn’t large enough to be a city, but it was populated enough to be a town with high energy. It was a hidden place in the deep forest of the valley. Only cultivators dared to live out in the middle of nowhere, so all hands were always on deck to put the festival together.

Even as Minseok perused through scrolls and books, finding nothing that he needed, he still hoarded a few for good measure. His quick skimming might lead to clues if he took more time to read them later.

“Would you at least tell me what you’re looking for so I can help?” Jongdae nearly pleaded in his delicate tone.

Minseok stopped reading for a moment and looked up at him. He looked the man over and realized they would need disguises if they wanted to watch the parade for just a bit.

Just as Minseok went to speak, the loud pounding of ceremonial drums began to play. Metal instrumentalists blew their horns and cheers upon cheers of cultivators rang through the walls of every building.

“We need masks. Find us some masks, and…” Minseok hurried off to the back room of the library, rummaging around in some old fabrics before he pulled out disciple outer robes. “Put this on, so we blend in more casually.”

Minseok also dressed lightly in a disciple’s robes, a few fond memories playing on his lips as he reminisced what it was like to wear these clothes. They both set out to the streets, Jongdae taking the lead as Minseok hid in alleyways.

Soon enough, Jongdae had purchased them flower masks, ceramic masks decorated and painted beautifully for the flower they were representing. But once their masks were on, a childlike mischievousness engulfed Minseok’s heart and he grabbed Jongdae by the wrist and ran out into the streets. He took him down every twist and turn until the air was perfumed with mugunghwa and petals fluttered around. The cheers and screams of people got louder the closer they went to the parade, music electrifying the air and exciting his heart even more.

There was just a small problem: the streets were packed full of cultivators. There was a good distance between them and the road, and they were missing the best part—the fan dancers! Beautiful men and women dancing with large feathery fans, blowing the winds and stirring up mosaic clouds of synchronized petals. It was all they could see from where they stood, the pink and white petals of flowers. This annoyed Minseok, so he opted for a better view and pulled Jongdae along to the roof of one of the shops next to them.

It was perfect, the dancers with their brightly-colored pink hanboks and their shimmery fans danced away the petals into the crowds. Like puffs of snow in a winter’s gentle wind.

Minseok turned to Jongdae when he heard him gasp at the sight. He only wished he could see what kind of expression he was making underneath that mask. But that was an odd thought, wasn’t it?

The two of them stayed there for a good while, watching the different dancers go by and the various girls sending out bundles of petals into the crowds with the help of their spiritual powers.

Minseok leaned over and said, “Do you know why our sect only chooses a select few of our cultivators to master the fan as a spiritual weapon?” The way his voice rose with inflection immediately caught Jongdae’s attention—Minseok seemed excited over this.

Jongdae shook his head, smiling of course, but it could not be seen.

“When the sect was first founded, it was very small. They hunted their own food and made their own robes. It was a poor sect once, doing all it could to survive. One thing that it had plenty of were the mugunghwa flowers. All throughout the valley, the flower flourished and to this day it still does. So, they started a trend to pick the petals of the flowers and at the tops of the watch towers they would use fans as tall as a person to blow them over the sect. When the petals rain they look like brightly colored snowflakes, don’t they? Especially the white ones?” Minseok caught a petal in his hand and held it out for Jongdae to see. “The fan’s wind symbolized the harsh winter winds and the petals were the snow that it carried. As the sect moved on with its everyday life while the petals danced around, it gave them courage that they would make it through another winter. That all the harsh weather ahead would not stop them from their cultivation and from thriving.” He held his hand up and let the cool wind take the petal away and join the several others whisking away.

“Over time our sect turned it into a spectacle, and as the sect grew, the need for motivation to survive was lessened. Now we are one of the most notable sects in the country. And because of that achievement for the last few centuries, they took on the duty of giving back to those who cannot help themselves. To protect those through their harsh times as we were able to overcome ours… That’s why the fan is so special, because it represents the burdens we once carried as a sect. Only the most trusted and most leader-like figures have the opportunity to wield a spiritual fan. Like Sect Leader Jung—when he steps down from his position, his fan will pass down to Junmyeon. The greatest fan of them all, Kkochip.”

“Why don’t you wield a fan, then?” Jongdae asked in the most innocent tone.

Minseok blinked a few times. _Was that… Was that a compliment?_

He cleared his throat. “Uh-hum, well. I _was_ chosen to be a disciple of the fan arts, but they decided against it. At the time, I’d barely been with the sect for a year, and hardly showed any particular promising greatness as a cultivator. And I was past the age that they pick students. It would have shown favoritism if they let me start training so old. So, I got the next best thing we’re known for: archery.” Minseok shrugged his shoulders.

“…You would have been a great fan wielder. But you are most outstanding when you use your bow. You should not shrug it off so lightly.”

Minseok stood there just staring at Jongdae’s profile through the small slits in his mask. His face had felt all kinds of warm with the mask on, but now it just seemed to tingle with heat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black outline on one of the roofs. He shifted his focus and there he found a person, dressed in black robes. A thick, high ponytail sat on his head and his lightly sun-kissed skin was dazzling in the sunlight. Minseok’s heart sank at the sight—even though the person was a few rooftops away, he recognized them immediately.

“Zitao…” Minseok muttered.

Jongdae tilted his head. “Zitao…?”

On the rooftop opposite, Zitao began to run toward them. All the alarms in Minseok’s head went off and his heart dropped.

Without notice, Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction.

“Minseok! What’s the matter?!” Jongdae nearly shouted but softened his voice once he realized that maybe shouting a supposedly dead man’s name wasn’t a good idea.

“We’re being pursued!” he called out over his shoulder and jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

They didn’t get very far when another figure clothed in dark robes met them across the way. In the rear was a demon and in the front was a mysteriously masked cultivator. Minseok knew that nothing good would come of the demon, but who the hell was this cultivator? Could he trust him?

Minseok had no intention of taking any chances and leapt across the road separating shops and vendors with Jongdae’s wrist still in his grasp.

“Who are these people?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Then why are we running?!”

Minseok shut his mouth quickly but opened it back up just as fast, “Because I do know one of them, actually!”

Jongdae was silent.

“There’s something I haven’t quite told you yet—”

As Minseok went to prepare for another small leap onto the roof of the lecture halls, Jongdae ripped away from Minseok’s grasp and the clang of swords resonated in his ears. It was the masked cultivator rather than Zitao. Their sword was plain and clearly not a spiritual one, probably a fake to hide their identity. But this attack confirmed Minseok’s doubts—they could not be trusted.

Jongdae leapt back, his robes flowing easily in the wind. He took his stance with a severe look in his eye in front of Minseok, ready for anything.

The cultivator dove forward again, lunging with his sword as he did so. Jongdae was ready to deflect it, but in the two seconds that he should have met the blade, there was nothing. Like a glitch, the cultivator phased around him and was at Minseok for a swift attack.

No one had seen it coming. Minseok watched as the blade neared him, his life flashing before his eyes.

Then another sound of thunderous crashes vibrated the building beneath them.

A hole had blown into the side of the roof with debris and dust flying everywhere.

 _“Minseok!”_ Jongdae screamed through the dust, not knowing what had happened.

“I’m fine!” He quickly yelled and Jongdae was right by his side. “What the hell happened?!”

“The demon just attacked the cultivator!” Jongdae grabbed Minseok by the waist and pulled him tight against him.

“What…?” His words came out breathy, not even batting an eye at their position as he let Jongdae’s words process.

Jongdae got them up onto his sword and took off immediately. He didn’t care who saw, he didn’t care what happened afterwards, he just needed to get Minseok out of there.

They rode for a long time above the forest, having taken off their masks long ago and put them away.

The smell of mugunghwa flowers that permeated the forest diminished and Minseok knew that they were far away. Maybe even far enough to land and not have that cultivator and demon follow.

It was nearly sunset when Jongdae finally decided to land. Minseok was wilting against his side and he knew he had to let him down to rest.

Now they happened to be headed south, where the land was more heavily forested with bamboo and trees. They stayed away from any main roads and settled down in a well-hidden spot, a crevice between shouldering boulders.

Jongdae rested Minseok against one of the rocks and quickly went to work making a concealment and protection barrier around their newfound campsite. Sure, Minseok had spent most of his day riding a sword, but for some reason his entire body ached with lethargy. He did what he could to meditate himself into a better state of being, but nothing helped. He felt so utterly weak, like he had used his whole body for the last several days at full power.

Minseok’s sight began to blur and his head hung to the side.

 _I remember this feeling…_ Minseok thought to himself as he fought to open his eyes.

“Minseok! Kim Minseok!” Jongdae’s rushed voice and clamoring footsteps on the broken branches and crunchy leaves arrived before him. He must have emerged from the brush at some point.

“Jongdae..” Minseok struggled to lift his neck up, but Jongdae knelt by his side and sat him back against the rock.

“Stay with me, Minseok!” His voice was so panicked, and his face was.. Exhausted. Why did he look so tired?

“Rest, you’ve done… enough,” Minseok managed to say as Jongdae pressed a hand to his chest and furiously tried to send him his spiritual energy. But Minseok could hardly feel anything. Minseok lifted a hand and held onto the one Jongdae had on his chest. “Just… rest..”

Minseok’s hand lost strength while holding Jongdae’s and fell onto his thigh. There, he felt a few warm drops grow cold. He looked up and there was Jongdae’s face, full of clear streaks.

_I remember this feeling now…_

“Please, hold on..” Jongdae whispered in a quavering voice, his other hand shaking as he raised it to tuck back a stray strand of hair on Minseok’s head.

_Tell him now, or you’ll never get to tell him again._

“Jongdae… I don’t… hate you.”

With one last susurration of breath, Minseok’s head went limp.

_This is what death felt like._

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

In the weird buzzing sensation that Minseok felt on his being, he could see nothing but black. There was nothing around him, no air to breathe, no temperature to feel or light to see. Just a weird feeling of his body humming with some kind of energy.

This time, his body did not feel the strain of being pulled in two directions so intensely, that part was faint. Instead he felt like nothing, just a mass of nothing floating in whatever kind of space he was in and left to his own thoughts.

_It was only a matter of time before I died again. I guess Jongdae’s array had a time limit and I had reached it._

The weirdest of all, though, was that he did not go back to that spirit realm, which only confirmed his suspicions. That realm was not real, and someone had deliberately sent him there. But because Jongdae had held onto a piece of his soul before it could leave completely, his soul was unable to act like the rest of the spirits wandering around. That meant someone was using some sort of spell to send dead souls to that place, most likely to farm them if what Lu Han said was true: there was a hall at the bottom of the realm that held all the spirits. That demon, Jung Kai, was up to no good keeping those spirits in check.

But Lu Han… He was different. He wanted to leave that place. Bei Xiong knew him as well and he had been stranded in that world. Someone or something put both of them there, and knowing that Lu Han was a cultivator changed everything.

He only wished he could go back to see Lu Han, to see if he was still alive. Even as a spirit, he should have more freedom than he does now. He wasn’t given a proper burial yet and, if anything, he still had unresolved business in life, so his spirit should still be roaming around the earth. Why was he stuck in this weird limbo of a place?

Mentally sighing, Minseok muttered a curse and felt the great urge to punch something. But just as he thought of getting angry at the world, the image of Jongdae’s smile flashed across his mind. His jet-black hair braided back and perfectly straight, flowing in the breeze with the mugunghwa flower petals dancing around his silhouette. These thoughts immediately calmed him down.

_Why was he so tired-looking just now? He’s been sleeping, right? I fall right asleep because my physical body is so weak, but what about him? …Is that why he looked so exhausted? Because he hadn’t been resting properly?_

All this time and Minseok hadn’t even noticed until the very last moment that Jongdae looked like he needed a long nap. Maybe now that Minseok was dead, Jongdae would get in some sleep, or at least meditate to replenish himself.

_I can’t even.. I can’t even be mad about this. I can’t even dare to have the audacity to want to blow up and cuss him out because he’s just… He’s done so much for me… My heart is stuffy and uncomfortable with all of this… We’re supposed to hate each other.. We’re supposed to.. Actually.. now that I think about it, there was a time when we were so bad, we couldn’t even be at the same gathering without fighting. He’d immediately draw his sword on me and we’d fight until someone intervened because we were going to kill one another.. He got so bad at one point.. Then he just stopped… He ignored me altogether. And that pissed me off! He went from acknowledging my existence in every angry way possible to acting as if I didn’t exist! At some point, I started to be the one who instigated all the fights… For the last.. six years? Maybe it’s been nine years, I’ve been the one to always start.. I would always make everything a competition._

Minseok nearly gasped at a memory and he could feel a sort of mortification drowning his emotions.

There was a time when Jongdae clearly wasn’t interested in fighting with him, but Minseok was insistent on putting him down. So much to the point that Minseok remembered how bad he felt even at that time when he hated Jongdae’s guts. Jongdae looked so angered to the point that he would cry. It was such a complicated expression that it haunted Minseok for a while, he even stopped all his advances for a time.

_Five years ago, Baekho Ridge Sect—_

The three main sects had gathered for a meeting to converse about the events going on in the country. There had been a decrease in spirits and ghosts. Nothing alarming, but enough to make cultivators wonder. There were other small matters to deal with such as disciple recruits, disturbances with the mortals, and so on. They held these meetings at least twice a year. A few higher-ranked sects were invited, so there were always many people present, including Minseok. Sect Leader Jung always traveled to these events with his son, Junmyeon and his leading disciple, Minseok.

They all sat in a large room, one that looked eerily similar to the throne room of the king’s palace. But that was a perk of being the head sect in the country and direct subordinate of the king himself.

“Fellow brother and sister cultivators!” A tall man with a slim face and large narrow eyes spoke. This was the leader of Baekho Ridge Sect, the Taebaeksan. Like cool fire, he stood strong in his blue and white robes of silk, offering a salute to the cultivators in the room. He was the head of all cultivational sects in the country, not quite the chief cultivator as he answered to envoys from Lanling across the sea. Baekho Ridge Sect was the most revered of them all in their own country, naturally, everyone respected their leader as such.

Closest to his throne on one side sat his first son, Byun Baekhyun and second son, Byun Taehyung. With them sat a few other of his prized disciples, like his nephew Park Chanyeol. The three of them were nearly inseparable, but more so Chanyeol and Baekhyun. One was usually not far from the other.

Across from them and closest to the Taebaeksan were a few representatives from the capital. Meetings as important as these always had eyes from the king present. Then came the Mugunghwa Valley Sect, Sect Leader Jung Yunho, his son Jung Junmyeon, and the rest of the Hwarang. Then came the Jinju Peony Sect with Sect Leader Kim Okbin, her daughter Kim Sooyoung and son Kim Jongdae. A few other of their most notable disciples and members were among them as well, like the Twin Fangs, Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin. Other sects joined but their notability was not nearly worth the effort of keeping track.

“The life we choose as practicing immortals is not an easy one. Between helping the mortals and cultivating our own cores to reach the Nascent Soul, there leaves little time for idleness. To that, I owe thanks for your hard work.”

Everyone in the room cheered, raising a glass and politely drinking to his words.

“With the recent outbreak of demons from the south controlled, we have decided to reinforce security there. The watchtowers and walls will be doubled with watchmen. I have even thought to make a few more watchtowers in the area. It seems that the demons have been quite active in the last few years.”

Some people grumbled and others nodded their heads in agreement. It was a minor dispute, but when the Taebaeksan gave his thoughts on something, it was often final. He was merely updating the council that he would be implementing it.

Then he went down the list of sects and asked how each had been coping with the recent outbreaks and post-war rehabilitation. The three main sects, of course, hardly struggled, but those of lesser nature had their struggles and were greatly aided.

“Thank you, we of the Okjeo sect are in debt to the Jinju Peony sect.” A few cultivators had saluted Jinju Peony’s Sect Leader, having been gifted with medicinal supplies as their storage had been destroyed in the war.

“Taebaeksan!” A small voice from a short but stocky cultivator had called out with a salute. He stood in the middle of the floor dressed in brown and gray robes. “I have a complaint from a fellow sect. Last week, without any exorcism or acknowledgment to the problem, all ghosts in their family burial yard disappeared.”

A murmur of whispers roiled throughout the court.

“What kind of complaint is this?” A tall man of no notable birth spoke up. “Spirits come and go as they please, unless they cause disturbances or possessions, there’s nothing much we can do.”

“I understand that, sir, but these souls were many in the graveyard. They often moaned and wept from the displeasure's in their previous lives. Then one night, there was not a sound heard.”

“Maybe some passing cultivators were tired of hearing them and exorcised them all?”

“Anyone with decency would notify the sect the graveyard belonged to.”

Back and forth a few of the members went trying to validate the occurrence. It was mostly idle banter as many of the sect leaders wanted nothing to do with the case, the ghosts were gone, what problem could there be?

“There is a point to be brought up,” the Taebaeksan spoke in a fair and firm voice. “This is not of utmost concern at the moment, but it will be noted. I will send a few of my disciples to investigate the graveyard within the week. If nothing comes up, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do other than pray for the souls.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader. I will relay the message.” The man saluted and walked his way back to his small section of the court.

“The Han River recently went through some changes with the war—”

Without another thought, the problem with the missing spirits was brushed over. The council only lasted another two hours, after which they ate dinner with each other and idled in light conversation. It was a polite affair, the sneers and leers of opposing sects went unnoticed, at least purposefully. One sect was always trying to one up the other, trying to make their disciples shine the brightest. Petty political affairs, really. But not so of the leading sects. They left the other sects to their devices.

Later that evening once the council was adjourned, the sects that were staying for the night were tucked away in their guest rooms. Minseok had been on his way to his shared room with Junmyeon but had been asked to stay behind and have a small conversation with the Taebaeksan and sect leaders; he wanted Minseok to do a few guest classes on archery, since Baekho Ridge’s disciples were lacking recently. It wasn’t a terribly long conversation, but it was one that Minseok was delayed by. On his way back to his guest room, he could have sworn he felt a surge of spiritual energy from just around the hall. It was faint, something that could have easily been overlooked, but Minseok knew whose spiritual energy that belonged to: a sworn enemy of his.

Minseok sauntered over in the direction he thought the spiritual energy came from, walking through tall dark halls of the night, lit by low placed braziers. The walls were red and decorated with beautiful murals of past events. Only the most skilled could paint such important events. As the leading sect in the country, they really spared no expense to make it as beautiful and extravagant as any other notable sect. The hall he took led him to a terrace. The moon shone bright overhead and the mountain range was just below it. It was a beautiful sect, hidden high along the mountainside of trees and forest. Only the Sect Leader’s quarters resided at the very top of the sect, overlooking the rest below.

On the terrace across the way were two familiar figures, Byun Baekhyun and Kim Jongdae. The mood seemed foul, like something wasn’t quite right.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Minseok called out to the familiar face, his royal blue robes glistening in the moonlight when he turned around.

For a slight moment there seemed to be an expression of surprise in Baekhyun’s features, but they quickly settled to a soft smile.

“Senior Brother!” 

“What are you doing over here?” Minseok asked with genuine curiosity.

“Father wanted me to make sure everything was comfortable for the guests, so let me know if you need anything.” He wrapped an arm around Minseok’s shoulder and pounded a hand on his own chest, as if he were proud to be of service more than anything.

“Fine: I want a hot bath, your finest linens, tea served only from pure gold tea sets—”

“Brother...” Baekhyun’s voice faltered and a cold sweat broke out.

“I want it all in the next hour.”

“Aha,” he laughed nervously. “For you, Senior Brother, anything.” With his arm still wrapped around Minseok’s shoulder, he began to walk them toward the guest rooms. “I’ll make sure to leave you with the absolute best maidens to dress you and do your makeup and make your hair really big, like the gisaeng you are.”

Minseok and Baekhyun shoved each other playfully at that, Minseok snickering at being called such a flamboyant thing.

“But then again, that would be a compliment to some of us.” Baekhyun’s gaze flickered to Jongdae, a lingering resentment there.

Minseok smirked at the comment and chuckled in quite the belittling way.

“Don’t linger around too long, it gets cold up here at night. I’ll be by your room in a bit, after I’ve finished visiting everyone.” Baekhyun patted Minseok’s shoulder before he walked away.

Minseok nodded and waved him off before turning to face the second person there.

Jongdae’s hair was not braided, instead cascading over his hanging head. His robes looked loose, as if he was just getting ready for bed but decided to take a small walk before laying down for the night.

Minseok stared at the man in front of him, taking in how much he’s grown in the last couple of years as he straightens up. Jongdae’s face was void of emotion as he stared off at nothing.

Minseok snickered in Jongdae’s direction. “I don’t even understand why you bother. You know you’re not liked by anyone. You really should just stop attending these occasions.”

Jongdae just stood his ground, looking off the terrace and into the night.

Minseok snickered again and rolled his eyes. “What, too good to acknowledge me, now?”

Jongdae was like a stone statue, refusing to make a move or mutter a sound. His eyes looked glazed over, with anger or some sort of agonizing emotion that Minseok could hardly discern. This only pissed him off even more—those emotions were there, so why wasn’t Jongdae reacting to him?

With a gritting sneer, Minseok raised a foot and duly slammed it into the side of Jongdae’s knee.

For any normal human, their knee would have broken like a twig. But both cultivators sent spiritual energy to the spots, one to deflect and the other to use more force. Pain was still evident, there was no avoiding that unless you took numbing medicine or were a walking corpse. Jongdae fell to one knee at the unnecessary attack.

With a proud chortle, Minseok looked down at him, “This angle looks good on you. Who knows how long it’ll be before that pretty voice of yours cracks while begging for mercy.”

This kind of encounter with Kim Jongdae was normal, one or the other would normally start the series of slander before they broke out in a fight. This was what Minseok was fishing for, but for some reason Jongdae just wasn’t responding like usual.

Jongdae slowly raised a hand from his lap and made Minseok smirk as he prepared to pull out his sword to start a fight.

Though, what happened next was not what he expected.

Two sparkles, glistening in the moonlight, splattered on the floor and Jongdae only raised his hand to his face. Minseok froze when he started to realize what was going on.

Jongdae heaved out an agonized sigh and looked up at Minseok with daggers for eyes. They were so piercing and full of anger that Minseok could feel his stomach churn with something uncomfortable.

Minseok stepped back once, his brow twitching at the sight of a red and teary-eyed Kim Jongdae.

He had never seen him like this before. Did he really say something so terrible? Wasn’t this normal between the two of them?

“ _Get lost,_ ” Jongdae muttered lowly in a tone he had never used before. It sounded as if he were ready to murder, and there was no hint of that unique tinge to his soft voice. Even when he screamed out of anger, it never sounded this raw.

Minseok’s mouth twitched with the need to retort. How dare Kim Jongdae have the nerve to say something like that to him?! But the angry words he wanted to spew would not come out. Instead he stepped back slowly before turning on his heel and briskly walking towards the guest quarters.

Minseok flinched at the memory. _It was around then, wasn’t it? Kim Jongdae had been avoiding me just a little before that, but after that he never made it a goal to engage me. I was always the one to bother him.._ _How old am I? How old were we to have kept these childish games up? I know I’ve calmed down in the last couple of years, and the past is the past.. Why can’t I let it go? Why must I always have his attention in such an angry manner?_

If Minseok had a physical body right now, he would have long since run both his hands through his hair and pulled. Frustrating—it was all so terribly _frustrating._

But the most frustrating of all was not knowing why Jongdae became the way he did towards him. This idea of _love_ … Where did it even come from? Minseok sighed grievously, but as he did so, the pitch blackness in his eyes slowly faded. The sound of birds singing beautifully in the background took him off guard. The dull pain of being torn in two slowly dissipated.

Light flooded his vision and mixed with more sounds of dry leaves rustling in a light wind.

Minseok blinked a few times. His head felt awfully heavy and his neck was stiff. The energy flowing in his body was nearly nothing once again, and what little bit was there was a jumbled mess. It was uncomfortable, just like before he died.

Minseok’s eyeline caught the sight of something black against his leg. He followed the color and found it to be straight black hair splayed over his thigh. Kim Jongdae’s head was against his thigh, asleep. Though, this was not a very peaceful-looking sleep. His hair was sprawled messy over Minseok’s leg with one arm clutched to it and the other tucked somewhere beneath Jongdae. His face seemed to be in some sort of unrest, brows furrowed and dark circles quite prominent. It looked as if a few beads of sweat had been gathered on his forehead, so with a struggling hand, Minseok reached out to touch it. Of course, Jongdae’s head burned at the touch while being clammy.

Cultivators did not get sick like mortals did, no normal disease or sickness could affect them. Only specially-crafted poisons and the effects of other spiritual energies could make them physically ill. In this case, it seemed that Jongdae had been suffering from his own internal spiritual conflictions. It wasn’t quite a qi deviation, but he looked weak.

Minseok could only give a tired glance at the man asleep on his thigh before he slowly removed his outer robe and laid it across Jongdae’s shoulders.

A month ago, he would have pushed him aggressively away. Within the last two weeks, he would have gently put him aside, but now, he was much too weak to do anything. The cold of autumn was enough to leave one shivering at night, so mornings were quite chilly. Minseok’s body was already numb with cold, having not quite warmed up yet, so it was imperative that Jongdae stayed warm, in his mind at least.

Who knows how much time had passed since he last died? It was nearly sunset the last he remembered, now morning was already upon the landscape. Had it been a night since? A few days? Minseok tried to discern just how long it might have been, but his mind was much too fuzzy to properly think. As Jongdae curled himself more comfortably into Minseok’s thigh, he could hardly hold back the involuntary smile as he drifted off into slumber of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the flashback is probably my favorite scene in the entire story, AND it was never planned
> 
> actually... 3/4 of this story wasn't planned and before I knew it was over 100k


	11. 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: mentions of claustrophobia

The next time Minseok woke up, there was a warmth surrounding his right leg while the rest of him seemed to shiver with the cold. His rear was numb and a bit damp from sitting in the same position for who knows how long.

Jongdae was still fast asleep on his thigh, but he seemed calmer, not nearly as troubled as before. Sweat still beaded on his forehead and nose, but at least he looked as if he was getting better rest. One hand held onto Minseok’s thigh and the other was tucked away close to his chest, like a child snuggled under warm sheets.

Minseok sat up straight and took in the surrounding land once again. It was the same place hidden in between the two boulders, shrouded in the changing trees. A few crunchy orange leaves dusted their bodies, but Minseok gingerly picked them off. From the small glimpses of sky that he could see, it looked as if the sun was just about to start setting. Either he had slept for another several days or just half the day.

With a groan, he stretched his back straight and felt as his bones all muddled together into a crackling mess. He really had been in the same position for a while. Time was slowly running out for them—there was no way they would be able to solve anything before the cultivators from across the sea would arrive. With a sigh, Minseok reached out a hand and tucked some loose strands of hair over Jongdae’s shoulder. He seemed so delicate like this, like anything could graze against his skin and he would start to bleed. Minseok had always thought this about Jongdae, that he would be better off as a maiden than as one of the most notable cultivators of their time.

Minseok’s hand lingered by Jongdae’s ear. He seemed reluctant to let go quite yet.

Jongdae’s ear looked so soft and supple that he just _had_ to touch it. Without thinking much about it, his fingers involuntarily began to gently pinch and stroke the soft skin.

_When are you going to wake up? Don’t you know that we have to talk? We have to get going, it’ll only be a matter of time before someone finds us here…_

He stared off as he stroked Jongdae’s ear, his mind lost in his thoughts of worry.

While he stared off, not really focusing on anything, Jongdae’s eyelids began to flutter. His long lashes cast a delicate outline over his cheeks as he slowly came to.

One of his hands raised to reflexively grab whatever was touching his ear. This motion startled Minseok as their hands connected.

Jongdae was still coming to as his eyes focused on the outer robes in front of him. His gaze slowly traveled up and met with Minseok’s wide and rather surprised eyes. Minseok watched as the realization slowly traveled onto Jongdae’s face. It went from pale to red and to any mood possibly imaginable.

Jongdae’s body shot right up, his hair flying about and landing down in a mess. It looked so perfect while he was lying down, yet this simple rash movement made it so unruly. Minseok’s outer robe fell off of Jongdae’s shoulders as he positioned himself to stare directly into Minseok’s eyes.

Both were frozen, but the disbelief on Jongdae’s face was something new to Minseok.

With knit brows he thought, _Why do you make such a face at me?_

“Y-You’re.. You’re here… You’re!” Jongdae’s eyes grew red with strain yet no tears dared to well.

“I’m here,” Minseok responded in a raspy tone.

Jongdae went to reach out his hands and touch him, anywhere, just to know that this wasn’t a dream. But he caught himself midway and retreated. “How.. do you feel?”

Minseok looked down at their position, how Jongdae placed one hand on the ground between his legs and leaned in so close.

“…I..” Minseok’s voice faltered. “I-I don’t know…”

Jongdae breathed out with mild weariness and raised a hand to gently place on Minseok’s forehead. “You’re as cold as ice, where is your outer robe?” Jongdae quickly took himself back and looked around. The moment he found the robe resting on his hips and legs, he froze again.

Minseok watched as this happened, wondering why he was taking so long to do anything. But soon after, Jongdae took the robe and placed it on Minseok’s shoulders with ease.

Jongdae then knelt just beside him and took hold of Minseok’s hand. “I would start a fire for you, but I don’t want to risk giving our position away. You’ll have to bear with this for now, please.” Jongdae’s face was void of emotion, not even the usual smile he always had plastered on was present. His voice was restrained, as if merely acting upon duty.

As soon as he placed another hand on top of Minseok’s, warmth began to spread up his arm. As inviting as the feeling was, Minseok used all the strength in him to pull away. His weak arm fell placid by his side and hit the ground.

Jongdae watched and did not attempt to fight for the hand back.

“Kim Minseok… Please…” Jongdae’s voice quivered under the unrest of the rustling trees.

But Minseok could not see the expression on Jongdae’s face, his head hung low, only his lips were parted and looked to tremble as he spoke.

“Help yourself first.” Minseok spoke in a clear voice this time, trying to overcome the dryness in his throat.

“But—”

“Kim Jongdae.” Minseok’s voice rose with authority over him. “Sit there and meditate for yourself.”

“But you’re cold!” Jongdae pleaded, his head raising and showing off the evident worry on his features.

“And I know that you have been feeding your spiritual energy into me all this time! My body has no spiritual energy in it! It hasn’t from the start! My spiritual core is _dormant_ , Kim Jongdae. I felt it when I first woke, and even now that I’m awake I can still feel it. But you have been sending me your energy since the beginning! My meridians cannot support anything large, but it’s enough to at least keep me alive and in this world. It’s why you’ve been running away from everything. Every enemy we come across, your instinct is to flee. The Kim Jongdae I know would have stood his ground and fought. But you’re too weak to do anything more. It’s also the reason why you don’t sleep at night! You’re constantly using up all your spiritual energy and draining yourself dry!” Minseok raised a hand that he had been struggling to pool a small amount of energy into and slammed it into Jongdae’s chest.

Without warning Jongdae took the blow and coughed up a mouthful of congealed blood.

“How long have you been holding that down?!” Minseok’s voice rose even higher. Why was he getting so worked up over this? “You’re not well enough to fend for yourself, how do you expect to protect me in this case?!” He only became more frustrated with the way Jongdae kept coughing off to the side. Each cough brought up a new wave of blood that had been suppressed for a very long time now.

“When.. did you know?” Jongdae asked with a shaky tone as he tried to wipe his mouth of the blood.

“I may not have the ability right now to tell what kind of energy flows through me, but I realized it just a little while ago when I woke up. There wasn’t anything flowing through my body until you woke up.” Minseok spoke with a firm face, more borderline angry than anything.

“I’m sorry—”

Minseok raised a hand to quiet him. “Don’t. Just sit and meditate for a while. I know a place not far from here that we can go, a friend will help us there.”

“But you need—”

“I’ll have everything I need when we get there. Just sit and meditate!” Minseok leaned over with an intimidating demeanor about him. It was mostly a show, but he really did have it up to about here with the man, so it was only half true anger.

Jongdae reluctantly listened and sat just in front of Minseok in the lotus position. “Fine, but I’m staying right here. If anything happens, I’ll be the first to know.”

Just as Jongdae closed his eyes, Minseok reached out and grabbed his hand. “Take the barrier down first.”

“Absolutely not,” Jongdae said, nearly deadpan.

“To get you to enough spiritual power, the fastest way will be if you do this. So please, just do it.”

There was no movement or broken eye contact for a solid minute before Jongdae grimaced and reluctantly gave in. He held a two-finger seal and the ward was broken.

“As soon as I hear something, I’ll wake you up.” Minseok said in a low, yet lightly pleased voice.

Jongdae simply nodded and closed his eyes.

Jongdae spent four hours meditating. The sun had gone down and twilight played on the land. The temperature dropped significantly and Minseok could see the small puffs of air leaving his lips. Of course, Minseok didn’t stay seated in that one position for four hours. He stood up, stretched his quite stiff limbs, had a snack and kept as keen of an eye as he could on their surroundings. He couldn’t tell how many days had gone by yet, so he had to make sure that when they were settled in this next place that he had a very long talk with Kim Jongdae.

During those four hours, Minseok could slowly feel the spiritual energy flowing through his frazzled meridians increase. He only wished that his body would hum with overflowing spiritual power, with no problems. Instead he made do with the very small amount that his body could handle from Jongdae.

After those four hours, Jongdae opened his eyes and the first thing he did was look for Minseok. They took off on Jongdae’s sword, Minseok hugging him tightly and bracing his face against the cool night. His body had finally started to gain feeling again, his warmth built almost all the way up had it not been for the chilly air—it was safe to say that he was more than freezing in the air.

They spoke very little between each other. Jongdae simply listened to the directions Minseok gave him, not questioning where they were going or what to be prepared for. He held Minseok with a strong arm, his body firm and tall as if none of the weakness he’d showed earlier had ever happened.

“How long until we reach this place?” Jongdae called out to wake Minseok’s drowsy eyes.

“We should make it by daybreak. I know it’s a bit far and closer to demon territory, but we’ll be safe for a little while. Only one other person in my life knows this place, and he still thinks I’m dead…” Minseok mumbled, “hopefully.”

Jongdae did not answer and simply nodded every time Minseok spoke a few words to him.

Dawn really was upon the land by the time they arrived in the area. Towns and villages were sparse along the way, but they were less afraid of being seen and gave little care to how close they were to them. Cultivators were not as common down this way. Land in this area boarded Baekho Ridge and Mugunghwa Valley Sects before branching off to other smaller sects.

Just over the bright yellow and deep red treetops, Jongdae spotted the dark gray tiles of a temple roof.

“Minseok,” Jongdae called in an easy tone, nudging him a bit. Minseok was feeling exhausted again, and with each passing second that Jongdae rode on, he could feel himself slipping more and more. Jongdae was exhausting his energy taking them across the tree tops so quickly.

Minseok slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to the biting wind. He was warmly rested against Jongdae’s back just a moment ago.

“There’s a temple just ahead,” Jongdae said.

“There, we have to go there,” Minseok mumbled quietly and immediately buried his face back into Jongdae’s robes.

The sun started rising, the horizon as light blue as the rest of the land as it slowly woke from its midnight slumber. Jongdae’s blade sloped toward the ground with much difficulty, and Minseok could feel him struggling along.

Minseok wondered just how many days it had been. The cultivators from across the sea must have been there by now…

As he’d aimlessly thought about these things, he hadn’t even noticed how Jongdae had landed them and had him slung in an arm.

They stumbled and tripped as they walked to the front gate, where giant weathered characters in faint gold read _Tongdosa._

“Kim Minseok, stay with me.” Jongdae’s low voice came fuzzy in his ears. But among the jostling of his failing body, they stepped over the threshold of the entrance. Minseok took a deep breath and immediately recognized the smell permeating the air. The burning incense wafting lightly and the cool autumn air mixed together were all very familiar to him. His mind immediately cleared of its fuzziness and let the nostalgia take him.

He stopped mid-walk with Jongdae, who was completely baffled by the sudden halt.

Across the courtyard, a few monks were about, some cleaning and a few others steadily practicing martial arts. Closest to them was a tall one by the pagoda statue in the middle of the courtyard. He was faced away from Jongdae and Minseok, sweeping away rogue leaves with grace.

He seemed like every other monk with a bald head and pale gray robes, but Minseok was fixated on this person particularly. The few monks carefully practicing in front of the temple hall doors stopped and stared at the sight of the two stumbling visitors. This caught the tall monk’s attention, so he turned in confusion and spotted the two cultivators.

Minseok let a breath of air escape his lips when their eyes met.

“Master…” he muttered and the wind carried it with tenderness.

Without another sound, the broom was dropped and Minseok let go of Jongdae. The monk and cultivator met in a mess of a hug.

Jongdae and the rest of the monks all watched as they embraced. They watched as their head brother kissed the cultivator’s head and tears fell from his eyes. It wasn’t long after, when Jongdae fainted, that the other monks responded and rushed over to help. Only afterward did they realize that Minseok had passed out, too.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

The next time Minseok woke up, he felt more refreshed than he had in the recent past. His body wasn’t stiff and for the first time in a while, he had pleasant dreams. That meant he hadn’t died again. He was just too weak to function properly.

Minseok’s first instinct was to look for Jongdae, but he was separated from him, having been kept in another room to rest. Instead, he was greeted by an old friend. One he kept close to his heart. One who raised him from a very young age.

“Master Shim!” Minseok exclaimed and tried to sit straight in his bed. He had been laid down in a small cloth bed stuffed with hay and dry herbs. His body hummed with a new energy, but was still unable to overcome the blockages of his meridians.

“Please, you know how I feel about formalities.”

“But Master Shim—”

The monk held up a firm hand to silence him. “Especially with me.”

Shim Changmin was once a formidable cultivator from an earlier age. His own age was unknown, as he kept such a youthful glow, but it seemed as if the last couple of years caught up with him. Not terribly much, but enough for Minseok to notice.

Shim Changmin left the cultivation world to help the common folk in villages. He felt he could make better use of his power by being a simple monk among the people, and he hadn’t changed since. But most importantly, this was Minseok’s father figure. For ten years, he raised Minseok in the monastery, hoping to keep him there and not experience the cruel world of Night Hunting and cultivators. But when Minseok wanted to leave and study cultivation with Sect Leader Jung, Master Shim could not deny how happy Minseok seemed. Although, Minseok rarely visited. It wasn’t that he chose not to visit, but he was genuinely often very busy.

Nearing thirty, Minseok had last seen Master Shim about ten years ago. It had been a good long while since they had last seen each other.

“When I saw you there with your friend, I thought you were a walking corpse.”

“You knew…?

Master Shim nodded. “Sect Leader Jung payed me a visit not long after.”

Minseok was silent for a moment to gather his thoughts. “…It’s true that I did, indeed, die. But, I’ve been brought back a few times… Speaking of which.. Where is Jongdae?” He craned his neck to look around.

“Resting. He’s exhausted himself spiritually and physically. Don’t worry, I’ve been carefully checking up on him.” 

Minseok sighed a breath of relief and laid back down with mild ease. He proceeded to tell Master Shim of everything that had happened in the last few months, the events leading to his death and almost everything afterward. He omitted the part where he had been whisked away to some spiritual world. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his old master, but more that he was unsure if this knowledge would endanger him.

Master Shim sat beside him with his eyes closed, listening intently. By the end, a frown crept over his features.

“…This is why I refused to teach you cultivation when you were young..” Master Shim muttered.

“Or what else? You’d keep me here and shove me beneath the floorboards whenever something happened?” Minseok did his best to keep his tone even, but the resentment in his heart felt full upon hearing Master Shim mutter those words.

“I would have taught you to defend yourself, and to defend the monastery. You wouldn’t have—!” Master Shim cut himself off, standing to his feet and refusing to look at Minseok. He clearly felt unsettled over Minseok’s words.

Minseok sighed. He knew this wasn’t the right moment to bring this up, but his heart would forever feel heavy on the topic.

“I did what I thought best for you. To keep you safe. I am not your legal guardian, so when you decided to follow Master Jung back to his sect and become a disciple, I thought that it would be safer for you. What say did I have if the look in your eye was so determined? Now, you’ve died twice. The decisions you make lead to one bad thing after the other—”

“I!” Minseok tried to interrupt.

“That hot-headed nature of yours has escaped when I taught you day and night to discipline your mind and tranquilize those thoughts—”

“I do!”

“You do not! Your decisions are rash! You lie here by sheer luck! Without the friends and bonds you’ve made, you would have long since been lost to the nether worlds! I had hoped that as you aged, you would mature, but your mind is still too young. You’ve meddled in things far out of your capability—”

“Then what would you have me do?!” Minseok raised his voice to match that of Master Shim’s.

“I would have you ask for help!”

Minseok had never heard Master Shim raise his voice like that, not once in all his time living in the temple. In fact, no one had ever heard him raise his voice like that—so much to the point that one of the monks brave enough to interrupt them poked his head in.

“F-First Brother Shim, I know you’re in an important conversation, but your voice is reaching the monks meditating in the courtyard.” His voice nearly cracked with how uncomfortable he felt interrupting.

Master Shim nodded. “My apologies. I was just leaving,” he said rather stiffly.

Without another word, the monk closed the door of the medicine room and scurried along.

Master Shim simply stood there, his fists balled and hidden behind his sleeves.

“…I see how loved you are, Minseok. Even if I am not there to help, don’t be afraid to ask others.” He let go of his clenched fists and let them hang.

Minseok had no words to give, only able to wallow in the glum air between the two of them.

Master Shim straightened his back and said, “I will be back later to check up on you. There is food and medicine next to you. If you need anything, just call out. Someone will always be close enough to hear you.” Without another word, he left.

Minseok wiped the stray angry tears that escaped him. He didn’t know exactly why he was crying, but the feelings in his heart were a mess.

Just as he went to sit up and cover his face in his hands, the door swung open and someone walked in in nothing but their under-robes.

“Kim Jongdae!” Minseok exclaimed in a quiet voice and he furiously wiped his eyes clear, making his cheeks bright red.

Jongdae froze in his steps after closing the door. “Are.. Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Minseok tried to wave him off.

Jongdae, of course, did not believe him, and stood there with a grimace on his lips.

“I-I… Alright, I’m not. I just…” Minseok sat up in the bed while Jongdae knelt by his side. “I…” The feelings he felt in his body could not translate properly to his mouth. No matter what he thought, he felt ashamed for his feelings.

Jongdae held onto Minseok’s hand, warmly engulfing it and giving him a comforting smile. “You don’t have to tell me, if you do not wish.”

Like fire being extinguished into hot steam, Minseok’s heart calmed down. His stomach did not feel like lurching out and his arms did not itch to punch something to smithereens. Only a warm surge of butterflies fluttered about his stomach. Unused to the feeling, Minseok pulled his hand back and hid it in his own. He never looked up to see what kind of face Jongdae reacted with.

“Thank you…” he mumbled, “but it’s not that I don’t wish to tell you.. I just don’t know how.”

Jongdae thought for a moment. “…Let’s start at the basics. How do you know Master Shim?”

“He’s… He raised me since I was young. I lived here until I was about ten years of age before I moved to Mugunghwa Valley Sect. Sect Leader Jung and Master Shim are old friends. Sect Leader would visit sometimes and on one occasion, he asked if I’d be interested in becoming a disciple. I said yes, and almost never looked back.”

Minseok went on about his time living in the monastery. How they were constantly under attack from demons and monsters, how he would be shoved in crawl spaces to hide, and how Master Shim started him on the road of cultivation. Somehow, all of that led him to being frustrated. There was only so much he could take, especially adding in an angry Master Shim.

Jongdae said nothing while Minseok spoke, only listening and giving the occasional nod to show he was paying attention. By the end of it, he leaned over and grabbed the tray of food and medicine and settled it onto Minseok’s lap.

Without even realizing it, Minseok felt ten pounds lighter, like a boulder had been released from his shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much I was… talking,” Minseok apologized.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” 

Jongdae spoke in the tone he gave most people, kind to the ears and sweet on the eyes, but the meaning behind it wasn’t as sincere as it seemed. Something in Minseok felt a little disappointed seeing Jongdae act like that, but he brushed it off. He would never know that Jongdae was only trying his best to seem as if he didn’t care, as he was afraid Minseok would feel more embarrassed if it seemed like he pitied Minseok.

“That’s enough about me, how are you feeling? Have you rested enough? I really don’t know how long we’ve been here or how long it’s been since Mugunghwa Valley.” Minseok tried changing the topic, albeit awkwardly.

“I’m all right for now. I’ve rested for half the day, though your Master didn’t seem too pleased to see me just now. It’s been nearly a week since we left Mugunghwa Valley Sect. I spent four days holding onto your spirit, while trying to meditate at the same time. It worked by the third day, but I fell asleep at some point. It shouldn’t have been more than a day while I was asleep…” Jongdae whispered the last part, knowing very well that he had accidentally fallen asleep on Minseok’s lap. “It took another day to get here, and I spent half a day resting and meditating.”

Minseok sighed sheepishly. “I’ve been asleep for most of it, huh?”

“It’s not your fault though. Just… focus on surviving.” Jongdae spoke with a tinge of apprehension.

Minseok kept his mouth shut, only poking at the bowl of soup in his lap.

“Eat, please. You need to get as many nutrients as possible.” Jongdae pushed the spoon in Minseok’s hand toward him.

“I could say the same about you.” Minseok grimaced as he began to eat. “The envoy from Lanling has probably arrived for evaluation already… I’ve wasted all this time..” he muttered and put his hand with the spoon back down on the tray.

Jongdae reached over and took hold of Minseok’s hand with the spoon. “There’s still a few more days, but we’ll never get anywhere with your body in this condition. We need to figure out what’s wrong as soon as possible.” Jongdae dipped the spoon with Minseok and brought it towards his mouth.

Minseok pulled away from the spoon and put their hands back down. “There’s almost no way to solve my predicament without—” He caught his words then let out an exasperated sigh. “Kim Jongdae… There’s… something I haven’t told you.” He waited for some sort of response from the cultivator, but nothing ever came. “When I died… My soul didn’t just scatter and you were able to hold on to a small piece of it, the piece that resides in me now.. Well… There is another larger chunk of my soul that was pulled somewhere else—to some sort of spirit realm.” 

Minseok looked for a reaction on Jongdae’s face but the man was steeled, his eyes focused on him and nothing but him. His brows were knit, but when were they not since he first walked in? Minseok continued with his story, telling him of Lu Han, who might not be a demon, of Jung Kai the demon, Bei Xiong the spiritual shape shifter, Zitao the demon with claws, and the spirits that were drawn there and brought to the base of the realm. It was a long story that Minseok told, long enough for a few hours to pass them by. It was the longest Minseok had ever spoken to Jongdae in a given moment. His medicine had been drunk and his food eaten, although cold from the idleness.

“Do you remember the person in all black on the roof in Mugunghwa Valley?” Minseok asked.

“Yes.” Jongdae nodded with intrigue.

“That was one of them. Zitao. He attacked me just before I left that world, but now that I think about it—he never really tried to harm me.. There was always the perfect opportunity but he never did.. Now I can almost confirm that he never really had the intention to attack me. The other mysterious person came for me, yet Zitao deflected his sword before you came over… I don’t know his true purpose, but for now he isn’t a threat.” Minseok glanced up at Jongdae, just to see his expression again. One of complication, he almost seemed… distraught.

“This will sound weird, but I’m grateful Zitao showed up when he did.. I was beginning to think I imagined it all.. But that pain.. That pain is not something one can imagine.”

Jongdae’s face seemed to run pale at Minseok’s words.

“I do have a theory, though..” Minseok continued. “If I want to get the rest of my soul back and be whole once more, I need to go back there. And…” He trailed off and looked off to the side, deep in his thoughts.

“And what…” Jongdae asked in a quiet voice.

“I want to make sure Lu Han is okay. It was only a short while, but he took care of me. I at least owe him that freedom he desired so much… And there’s more, those spirits being lead to the bottom, they’re doing something with them, like they’re farming them.. Jung Kai possessed some kind of whip, like a cattle herder… I think there’s something bigger going on here. The disappearance of demonic activity, ghosts, and night hunting monsters over the last few years—they’re all somehow connected… I think… I think I found out what was happening, but before I could make a move and tell someone else, I was slain on the spot.” Minseok’s lip trembled with the excitement surging through his veins, not the happy jittery kind of excitement but the exhilaration that he was discovering something. It felt like he was closer to the mystery looming over their heads.

Jongdae’s head was hung down, his eyes unseen and covered by his bangs, but his lips looked to be in some sort of frown.

A sound protruded from his lips, but Minseok couldn’t hear it quite properly.

“You’ll need to speak up, I can’t quite understand you,” Minseok said.

“Maybe you should stop meddling in these affairs…” Jongdae’s voice was still very low, but it was enough for Minseok to understand.

With a raised brow, Minseok responded, “What are you talking about? Of course I’m going to meddle in these affairs. Junmyeon asked me to figure out what was going on before the cultivators from Lanling came to evaluate us, and even though I’ve failed to figure anything out before then, I still intend on seeing this through.. You also…” Minseok’s cheeks grew in a dusty shade of pink as he lowered his voice. “You also gave me a second chance at life.”

Jongdae slightly perked his head at that.

“I don’t plan on wasting this second chance. If I can get my soul back, then I will.” Minseok straightened his back and swallowed down the bashfulness playing on his heart. “I intend to repay you.”

Jongdae bit his lip and his shoulders looked as if they were shaking. “…But this is not your burden to bear… Must you always be the hero?” He kept his voice low, this time more breathless and with an anxious kind of force.

“Huh?” Minseok tilted his head but before Jongdae could say anything more a light knock sounded at the shuttered door.

“Pardon my intrusion. I’ve just come to check on Minseok.” Master Shim’s soft voice came from the other side of the door.

“Come in,” Minseok called out to him.

Master Shim walked in with a tray of what looked to be freshly steamed bread. The smell was intoxicating with nostalgia. Minseok remembered how the smell would waft from the kitchens and slowly wend its way through the courtyard. It always made him salivate with hunger as a child, like it did now. Minseok swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and pretended as if he wasn’t so interested in eating another bite.

After Master Shim set the tray down and sat himself beside the two of them, he spoke in a fair tone.

“I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I just.. I worry about you.”

The hardening Minseok tried on his heart melted away almost instantly. No matter how foul-tempered he was, he could never get so angry with Master Shim. Even though he knew he was being a brat about the situation, too, he still found himself cross for more reasons than one.

Minseok let out an arduous sigh. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said those things when I’m clearly in no position to think I can do this on my own, or with just Kim Jongdae’s help… There’s more going on than we know. I suspect it’s going to take a lot more than just two cultivators to solve it.”

Master Shim nodded in understanding. “Then if there’s anything at all I can do to help, just ask.”

“But—”

“Even if I have long left the life of night hunting, I still have some abilities in these old bones. Just ask, and I will help you.” Master Shim gave a soft smile to his patient, his eyes shimmering with the light of yearning—a yearning to be helpful to the one he cared so deeply for.

Master Shim seemed resolute, there was no way Minseok was going to refuse him now. “…Then, have you ever heard of a cultivator from across the borders by the name of Lu Han?”

Master Shim thought for a moment, resting his curled index finger on his mouth and his thumb on his chin. “From the Central Plains?”

“Anywhere, anything that you can think of,” Minseok pressed.

“Hmm..” He thought for a moment. “There’s nothing that comes to my mind of anyone important in the last several centuries. About how old is this person or tales of this person?”

“Over five hundred years.” Minseok tilted his head down, thinking his old master wouldn’t know anything. Only the truly prominent stories ever traveled to other countries. Some of the more recent stories to make it to their small country were about the Sunshot Campaign and the Yiling Patriarch—specifically how one of the Twin Jade brothers of the Gusu Lan Sect decided to become night hunting partners with him. Most of these tales were important information about defectors who might have escaped to their country. And tales of great cultivators were also practiced in cultivation learning halls, for both ethical and enrichment studies. 

Once upon a time, Minseok could recite all the sect leaders of the four most prominent sects in the lands across the sea. Even if Minseok recalled all those past names, none were a match to Lu Han. It was even possible Lu Han never had anything prominent enough about him to be told stories of. But that was a very small chance of being true—after all, why would demons hold him prisoner for so long if he wasn’t so important?

Master Shim lightly patted his hand against Minseok’s when a realization came upon him. “There are some old scrolls in the archives that might have some information I can dig up. Lord Sungjeong, how are you feeling? Would you care to accompany me and look through a few scrolls? Minseok needs to rest, so we might as well enjoy our time before he wakes back up.” Master Shim gave a cheeky smile to which Jongdae couldn’t help but lift the right corner of his lips at.

“I’ll join you, then.” Jongdae nodded in that polite way of his and leaned over to clean up Minseok’s tray and dishes.

“You don’t have to go through all that trouble, at least let me help—”

Master Shim notoriously cut him off again, “Just rest. You’re barely hanging by a thread in this world.” Master Shim rose to his feet and gently pushed Minseok back down and laid a fresh blanket over top his body. “The moment we find something, we’ll come see you.”

“But—”

“You’re safe here, Minseok. Probably the safest you’ll be in a while.” Master Shim offered him a warm smile, so full of love and care that it shut Minseok right up.

It didn’t take much more convincing after that for Minseok to give in. Master Shim probably would have had him held down by the monks if he fought him anymore. But he couldn’t deny how weak his body was and decided it was a good opportunity to rest it more. It wasn’t long before he fell into another slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wangxian forever 😔✊


	12. 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence, claustrophobia, light gore

_Eight years ago_ — _Mountain Guardian Trial_

Colorful flags all symbolizing their respective sects waved proudly in the sky. It was the start of the Mountain Guardian Trial, honoring the story of the mountain spirit and the tiger.

This trial gathered the sects together for a grand tournament, where disciples of each sect were chosen to compete. They were paired up with a random cultivator of equal rank and must deliver a talisman to a shrine hidden at the very top of a mountain. It wasn’t a very exciting game until things were added to spice the event up. The partners were bound with a spiritual cord, so they could not be more than a body length from one another. While they delivered this talisman, they also had to overcome the obstacles that would try to stop them. Obstacles could include walking corpses or ghosts prepared for the trial. Others could include monsters and demons that naturally resided on the mountain.

The first pair who successfully placed their talisman and helped cleanse the temple would win the most in riches and spiritual items. While the next fourteen would be rewarded with less riches. The catch was that the pair had to have both people conscious. Tampering with the cord was prohibited.

Sect leaders and their families all sat in towers specially designed to overlook the side of Baekho Mountain. The rest of the audience were cultivators too old to join but just as enthusiastic to watch the event. It was a traditional game that followed an old folktale about a tiger that did the bidding of a mountain guardian spirit to protect the people traveling to the shrine at the top.

Naturally, Kim Minseok was present for such an event, along with Junmyeon and a few other juniors from Mugunghwa Valley Sect. Minseok had just been anointed one of the Hwarang, while Junmyeon had not quite yet made it. While everyone wore the sect’s pink robes, Minseok was the only one who stood out with his darker pink.

“Contestants!” came the booming voice of the Taebaeksan from where he sat in the audience. “You have five days to reach the top of the mountain. In that span, you must exhibit great examples of teamwork and quick thinking in order to act… When someone comes around with a bag of rope for you to choose, you must find your partner with the same rope and wait to be approved by one of the officials. Once everyone has partnered up and been given a talisman, a bell will ring and you will set off to reach the top of the top of the mountain. You must get there while both partners are conscious. The first fifteen pairs to arrive will be rewarded handsomely…” With spread hands and an enthusiastic smile, the Taebaeksan bellowed, “Safe travels, my comrades! Let the game.. begin!”

The audience roared with applause and excitement. Junmyeon ate up the attention and waved to the magnanimus crowds. Minseok stood proudly next to his friend, not really phased by his flamboyant behavior. The two of them had participated in this game before. It was only their second time but once was enough. Minseok would rather take on a more challenging endeavor, but he had to settle for this when both his sect leader and Junmyeon were insistent that he go.

“Do you see that? That’s Horanggeom.”

“What?! Where!?”

“No way! Byun Baekhyun has finally been passed down Horanggeom?”

“That’s right! This practically means he’ll be sect leader after his father!”

Murmurs spread like wildfire as a group of cultivators clad in royal blue strutted down the stage area. In the center was Byun Baekhyun, and to his left was his overly noticeable shadow, Park Chanyeol. Behind them was their cohort of sect members, proudly making their way through the crowds of lesser-known cultivators.

“He’s extremely handsome, the sword matches him very wel—”

“Hey! Look over there! It’s Hwarang Kim Minseok!”

“Hwarang Kim Minseok?!” The crowd quickly shifted their focus to a new target.

Kim Minseok, Jung Junmyeon, and their group of cultivators came in from the other end of the stage. Their bold pink uniforms were particularly bright in the early afternoon sun.

“Isn’t it amazing? He’s the youngest person to ever be anointed into the Mugunghwa Valley Hwarang. His skills are unparalleled for his age!”

“Not to mention, he started forming his spiritual core later than most of us! He’s been a prodigy in cultivation since Sect Leader Jung took him in, it’s no wonder he managed a place amongst the Hwarang!”

They all gushed about the information they knew about Minseok, going on and on about his successes.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Kim Minseok—or should I say, Hwarang Kim Minseok!” Baekhyun spoke with gusto as the two sects met in the center.

Minseok's usual resting face of anger quickly broke out into a smile, it was brash and very much bright upon seeing his friend. The two wrapped an arm around each other’s shoulders and laughed as they greeted one another. Junmyeon gave Baekhyun a similar brash greeting.

“Congratulations on becoming a glorified flower!” Baekhyun smacked Minseok’s back.

“And to you for receiving a hand-me-down sword!” Minseok quipped with a bright smile.

They all laughed together, enjoying the light banter amongst friends.

“How is your mother?” Junmyeon asked.

“Yes, it’s unfortunate we don’t have her in the war room right now,” Minseok added.

Chanyeol seemed to be irked by this and raised a brow, “How is she doi—” Baekhyun raised a hand to silence Chanyeol.

“She’s continuing to improve, thank you for asking.” Baekhyun smiled.

“That’s good to hear.” Junmyeon responded.

Minseok added, “I hope she makes a full recovery. A person as remarkable as your mother doesn’t deserve to lay in bed all day.”

“I agree..” Baekhyun’s face slowly turned to a frown and became solemn. “Her wounds after the last demon raid were filled with poison. She took too many hits trying to protect those useless cultivators we call disciples in our sect.” He rolled his eyes to hide the true anger that flared in his heart.

“It’s been a month since then, how long do they anticipate her recovery will take?” Junmyeon asked quite sincerely.

“At least another month or two.” Chanyeol butted in this time, seeming upset over something. “We’re grateful to have Aunty with us at all, so we haven’t even given a thought to when she can once again join us in the war room. She can lay in bed as long as she wants.”

Baekhyun shot a glare at Chanyeol.

Minseok and Junmyeon both nodded in understanding, Minseok realizing that his choice of words in regards to Madame Byun were poor. He only wanted to make polite small talk, but the reality was that it was truly none of his business, and he’d be equally sharp, if not more, with anyone who would speak carelessly of Sect Leader Jung if he were so injured. 

Junmyeon was quick to note the atmosphere and saw early on how this upset Chanyeol, so he quickly changed the subject. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were doted on by Madame Byun quite fervently, naturally, they were just as loving and protective of her. 

“I expect this year’s game to go by speedily. We’ve all done this once before and have grown much more since the last time.”

“Yes!” Baekhyun’s spirits seemed to be raised at the change of topic. “With all these demonic cultivators and demons showing up, we’ve had more practice than most disciples in the past. This year should be a piece of cake. I wager the four of us will make it within four days to the top.”

It was a large mountain, five days was unimaginable for a mortal, but cultivators might be able to manage it. It was at least a seven-day walk to the top of the mountain, ten days for a normal human.

“I’ll raise that to three.” Minseok smirked, the very air around him exuded confidence.

Junmyeon rolled his eyes, “Yeah, okay. And I’ll become sect leader tomorrow morning. Stop being such a showoff.”

“Hah! When I reach the mountain top in three days, you have to grant me a favor.”

“Oh, get over yourself, Kim Minseok!” Junmyeon turned and walked away. He was fed up with his nonsense. “Just go get your rope.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both laughed and snickered with Junmyeon. 

Minseok tutted in annoyance before following them all.

As they walked down the stage to grab a rope, they all passed one sect who was estranged from the rest despite being just as notable. Their white and deep emerald green robes made their skin glow and their dark hair shine under the sunlight. The distinct fragrance of the Jinju Peony wafted over Minseok as they passed, intoxicating him with just one whiff. Minseok nearly lost balance with how light he felt after smelling the peony flowers. They walked as if on air, light and ethereal to the very bone.

Shoulders nearly touching, Kim Jongdae passed by him with a lingering glower. Minseok made sure to return a similar stare.

The excitement that coursed through Minseok’s blood was damned. Just a simple glare made him get excited with the thought of fighting Kim Jongdae. To see him sweat and furrow his perfect brows in strain.

“It sure would be unfortunate,” Baekhyun started with a loud annunciating voice, “if you ended up partners with Kim Jongdae.”

“Never! In a million years!!!”

Kim Minseok ate those words right back up, because the person who stood behind him—hesitating to approach—was none other than Kim Jongdae.

Minseok stood at the edge of the forest, holding out his rope and waiting for whoever his partner would be to come over and attach their ropes together. The other cultivators weren’t too close by and were too preoccupied with their own situations to even dare notice this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

He knew that his partner had arrived but they just stayed where they were, not daring to walk over. Minseok turned his head slightly. “Well?”

Still no response. He turned even further and caught the sight of white and green. The further he turned, the more he saw a person with a paled face, hair flowing tenderly in the breeze that picked up once their gazes met.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Minseok bemoaned then looked down at their ropes. The same talisman had been attached to each. A sudden fit of laughter overcame him and he laughed and laughed until his abs burned. Even the person in charge of checking rope connections and confirming all pairings were set stood off to the side with an aggrieved expression. This person knew the dynamic of the Kim Tempests.

The Kim Tempests was the nickname given to the pair. No matter where they were, they would leave a path of devastation once they crossed paths.

“I refuse.” Minseok stood up straight and all traces of laughter were wiped away in an instant.

Both the referee and Jongdae were silent, their faces black with how uncomfortable they were.

“…The rules are final,” the referee finally spoke up.

“I refuse.” Minseok threw his rope to the ground.

The referee’s brow twitched. “Young Masters, these rules are set in stone and cannot be changed. Either forfeit or work together.”

“I forf—”

Before Minseok could finish, Jongdae had already walked over and connected their ropes. In an instant, Minseok’s body went flying over to Jongdae’s side.

“What the—!”

“ThenwiththeheavenspowerandwilloftheTaebaeksanmyyoubevictorious,” The referee blessed them and finalized the connection of their ropes in a rush. He scurried off, not wanting to linger for any kind of scuffle that might take place.

Minseok scoffed at how sudden everything was. “How dare you—”

“Let’s call a truce. For just this once.” Jongdae’s voice was neutral and he refused to look at Minseok.

Minseok kept a firm glower on Jongdae. He could hardly think of the right words to curse him with.

“How could you?! Do I not get a say in any of this?! What about my consent?!”

Jongdae was taken aback, his eyes wide as he stared back into those angry eyes.

“Wh-What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me! Your sect’s motto, it’s a riddle, and the answer is consent! Yes, yes, I know all about it! I figured it out the first time I ever visited. But how come I’m the one who has to remind you of it?!”

“I—”

“Forget it!” Minseok fumed. He paced for a moment, both fists balled. The bell in the distance had long since been rung and all the cultivators dashed into the forest with their talismans ready. Minseok and Jongdae were the only two stuck at the foot of the mountain.

“…Fine,” Minseok finally grumbled under his breath. “A truce it is.” He stuck out his hand for Jongdae to grab.

Jongdae grimaced with uncertainty before grabbing hold of Minseok’s arm. “..We shall get along until the end of the trial… No fighting.”

“And we work together to get out of this as fast as possible.”

Their eyes were fixed on one another as they laid out the terms of their truce, their grip strong enough to leave red marks on each other’s arm. When they let go of one another, they ran off into the forest, not to be seen for the rest of the day.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“Can’t you go any faster?!” Minseok bellowed. “You’re slower than the fermentation cycle!”

“How can I go any faster if you want me to be the maximum distance from you at all times? If I go any faster, you’ll get angry,” Jongdae rebuked but not nearly as explosively as Minseok. The two had been running up the mountain slope, trying everything they could to catch up with the rest of the cultivators.

Minseok tutted for the umpteenth time that day. “With the pace you’re going, we’ll never make it to the top of the mountain. We haven’t even gotten that deep into the forest yet, even with the lack of monsters and demons around.”

“…Then, do you want me to go faster?”

“Yes!”

Jongdae sped himself up with little effort. Before Minseok knew it, the man was passing him and steadily keeping ahead.

“Hey—!”

Jongdae tuned a head over his shoulder with a raised brow clearly saying, “I told you so.”

Minseok gritted his teeth at Jongdae’s smug look, just about ready to unsheathe Gwangseon on him. The further they ran up the mountainside, the more they noticed the lack of substantial monsters and demons. Most of what they encountered were just small creatures hardly worth mentioning. This either meant the bigger game was ahead with the rest of the cultivators or they were still on the tail end of the mountain.

They decided to travel into the night, hoping it would make up for lost time. However, the coming of night added a few more creatures to the game. Ferocious ghosts and corpses and the like wandered aimlessly around, looking for their next meal. Larger monsters and demons were not uncommon with the change of day to night.

They decided to rest just before daybreak, to replenish lost stamina and have a quick bite to eat.

Each of them had separate packs with preserved foods that had come with the talisman.

“You don’t like the pickled radish?” Minseok said off-handedly after glancing at Jongdae. They were resting at the edge of a rushing stream, sitting on top of two rocks.

“I’m not a fan of brined vegetables.” Jongdae was picking out the pickled radish from the tossed vegetables smothered in gochujang.

“Most of those are brined in the first place.”

“I like these the least.”

Minseok sucked his teeth and shook his head. “So picky…” Though he wasn’t complaining when he finished the pile for Jongdae.

It was a surprisingly mellow break for the both of them. Running all day wore down their energy to bicker. After they rinsed their faces in the stream, they were off again, flawlessly making their way up the mountainside and taking down the small monsters.

“…Something doesn’t seem right,” Minseok observed.

“There should be larger and stronger monsters and demons the higher we go,” Jongdae added. They were perched on the sturdy branch of a tree.

“Not to mention, we ran all night. We should have seen a few cultivators by now.”

“Or at least their aftermath.”

They were silent again. Minseok crouched and placed a hand on the tree, feeling for any abnormalities in the forest. Jongdae stood tall, listening and looking ahead up the mountain.

“It’s too quiet.” Jongdae’s voice dropped.

“…Yes,” Minseok agreed easily. Not a bird chirped nor an animal scurried. Any demons and monsters they came across seemed to be running away from something, like they were frightened right before they were exorcised.

“Wait a second..” Minseok whispered. “There’s… There’s something..”

Jongdae knelt beside him, his hand on his sword. “What is it?” Both their voices were low.

From the trunk of the tree, Minseok could feel the faint vibrations of something far off in the distance. It clunked and felt like something massive plowing through trees and knocking them down.

“It’s too far away to tell, but it’s coming down the mountain. Whatever it is, it’s big.” Minseok gazed fiercely on the land ahead of them. “We need to be careful. You need to tread lightly.”

“…I do tread lightly.” Jongdae seemed taken aback by Minseok’s words.

“No, you don’t.”

Jongdae blinked furiously. How could someone tell him, someone who spent years learning traditional dances for cultivation _and_ entertainment that he wasn’t light on his feet? His footwork was practically incomparable to most in their generation!

“I beg to differ—”

“Your footsteps are loud and clunky. You break every twig and crunch every leaf you pass. Your footsteps are so loud you probably scare away all the creatures.” Minseok smirked.

“How dare you—!”

“If you take note of my footwork, you’ll notice I’m almost as silent as the night.” Minseok jumped from the tree branch and pulled the unsuspecting Jongdae unwillingly. “I’ve trained over ten years in the forest, learning to lighten my step and not make a sound.” They both landed with a thud, Jongdae’s not so graceful as he tried to steady his fall. “You’re a city boy. You walk around not caring so much about how heavy your steps are because no one’s listening. Naturally, it carries over that you aren’t as light on your feet when trying to be.”

Jongdae’s striking features were red with aggravation, his bottom lip nearly pouting with how angry he was getting. “Okay. Then if you’re so quiet, teach me.”

Minseok grimaced. “Teach you?” he scoffed. “I can’t just teach you years’ worth of training!”

“Then you should start now.” Jongdae smirked with those feline lips of his.

With that smirk, Minseok mistook the skip in his heartbeat for the brooding contempt he seemed so sure about. It was always like this, whenever Jongdae made a face that was different from his usual cat-like smile, Minseok’s heart thumped in his chest. He either wanted to punch the living daylights out of Kim Jongdae or make it so that the face he made would stay that way.

It was exactly the same as an adult becoming so overwhelmed with the sight of a ridiculously cute animal, wanting to put it in their pocket, pinch its cheeks or bite it. That’s how Minseok became, but he misinterpreted those aggressive physical feelings for anger.

Before he could make any kind of retort, the ground beneath their feet vibrated and the sound of trees snapping thundered in the distance. Both men turned around, watching as birds flew away from treetops off in the distance. 

“It’s moving faster than I thought. We have to get up high!”

They both jumped back into the trees, hiding themselves in the denser part of the leaves as they headed straight for the source of noise. The closer they approached, the stronger the tremors were, shaking the very trees they would land on. A cloud of debris loomed just ahead of them, making its way towards them at an alarming rate.

“Do you have any idea of what it could be?!” Jongdae yelled above the thundering crashes of boulders and trees.

“Just a hunch! Whatever it is, it’s serpent-like!”

“You don’t think…”

Minseok did not respond, afraid that if he said anything, it would make the situation real.

The two stopped just before they would meet the monster, waiting for it to come towards them. They were well hidden in the leaves, so it should have been impossible for the creature to see them. Unfortunately, the moment it was close enough, a great white body shot out of the debris baring two long white fangs. Both Jongdae and Minseok went to dodge, but their instincts made them go in opposite directions. The spell keeping them together brought them crashing right back to one another and the giant mouth nearly closed on them. Had Jongdae not reacted fast enough and pulled Minseok away, they would have ended up slowly digested.

The monster was a giant white snake, the circumference of which was at least the size of five people with both arms outstretched. The eyes were blood red, glinting each time it bared its fangs and the several hundred teeth inside its fleshy mouth.

“It’s the Great White Snake Imitator!” Minseok shouted. Snakes were generally a favored creature, believed to bring fortune, especially if they got into a house. However, some instances caused snakes to mutate into horrible monsters, especially if they were surrounded by copious amounts of negative energy. The more negative energy obtained, the more ferocious it would become, beginning to devour animals and people. The more souls it would take, the larger it would become. This snake in particular was one of the greatest of them all, having consumed at least thousands of souls in its lifetime.

“What’s it doing here?! Wasn’t it detained within the last century underneath the mountain to dispel its yang energy?!” Minseok shouted as he and Jongdae dodged each of the snake’s attacks. They were just barely escaping by a hair’s length with how fast the snake moved.

“There’s no way the two of us can take it on like this!” Jongdae exclaimed.

“But we can’t just run away from it and let it run rampant!” Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s arm and pulled him back into the trees.

He pulled out his bow and shot an arrow to a tree on the other side of them. He shot out three more arrows, two in the tree they stood in and two on the other side. A formation of rose gold lines crossed up and down, forming a netted barrier.

The snake made a crash course for the two of them in the tree, but before it could attack them, the net formation grew bright in color and stretched out to ensnare the white snake.

“Get your sword out! We both drop down and slice through the head or neck!” Minseok instructed Jongdae. They both jumped from the branch and fell with their swords ready to slice. However, both their swords reverberated with a clang. The scales of this monster were massive and nearly indestructible—it was one of the reasons why the Great White Snake Imitator had lasted so long. Every inch of this snake was sealed with iron-clad scales, and even the belly was tough enough to withstand heavy blows of cannonfire.

Minseok was taken aback by the sudden inconvenience and missed the wailing white tail swinging in his direction. Jongdae tackled him out of the way once again, tumbling a good ways downhill.

As the snake thrashed in the breaking net, Minseok and Jongdae scrambled to their feet.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Jongdae bemoaned. “Watch what you’re doing!”

“Shut it! I don’t see you coming up with anything!”

“That’s because you’re taking up all the time doing your stupid tricks! Give me a second to do something!”

“We don’t _have_ a second!”

As they bickered, the snake thrashed its long body between the trees, constricting it to the point that the net was slowly breaking while pulling the trees down over it.

“It’s going to break free at any second now,” Minseok rushed. “We need to get to an open area, no trees and preferably no boulders.”

“This is a forested mountainside. There’s little chance of finding a field of grass.” Jongdae seethed as he looked out into the forest.

Minseok’s eye was keen and could see further than Jongdae’s. Thankfully, he spotted an area with lots of light leaking through.

“This way!” he yelled as he grabbed Jongdae’s wrist and pulled him across the mountain rather than going up or down.

Just as they headed off, the snake broke free of the spiritual netting and the two trees caved in over its head, splintering into thousands of pieces. This, unfortunately, was not enough to slow down the beast. It was still enraged and chased after them in a plume of dirt and debris.

Sensing this, Minseok let go of Jongdae as they jumped between trees, readying another arrow. He closed an eye and shot with an exhale of his chest. The arrow soared through branches and leaves, evading everything just to hit its target. It happened in mere seconds, the arrow shot and the blood curdling scream from the monster. It was a direct hit in its left eye, pink electrical currents surging around the area and duly blinding that eye.

“That should buy us some time! Let’s go!”

They reached an opening by a small creek that came down the mountain. The rocks in the water and boulders on the sides were rounded from weather and the rush of water. It was a majestic spot with clear water and singing currents, however, the impending doom behind them kept their minds frazzled and far from serene. The White Snake Imitator thrashed about fiercer than before, a fury left in its wake.

Minseok and Jongdae both stood at the edge of the creek, watching the snake with their minds going a mile a minute.

“Got any bright ideas in that pretty little head of yours?” Minseok sneered.

Jongdae ignored his remark and kept his focus on the snake, plowing through all the options possible.

“The only part of the White Snake Imitator that’s penetrable is its mouth.. It was the fleshiest part,” Jongdae observed.

“We need something to pierce the inside of its mouth.”

“Your arrows?”

“The obvious choice.” Minseok rolled his eyes as he readied his bow once more. The snake was nearly upon them so they backed up into the creek.

“If it doesn’t work?” Jongdae’s voice trembled as he stood behind Minseok. The White Snake was dangerously close, but even so, Minseok stood his ground, an arrow drawn and an eye focused completely on the target ahead of him.

The moment the White Snake Imitator was out in the open, it bared its venomous white fangs and took a jab at the two cultivators in the creek. Minseok let his arrow loose and it hit the back of the fleshy throat, but the snake did not so much as flinch with the impact.

Jongdae was ready for the both of them and dragged Minseok away, just barely missing the attack,water and rock flying every which way.

Minseok ripped himself away from Jongdae and readied three arrows this time, each of them charging with spiritual energy at their tips. He waited for the white snake to attack them again, with its cavernous fleshy mouth bared open.

The arrows all hit and were able to stun it for a moment, but it wasn’t enough to hold it down or kill it. The lining of its throat was still too thick for his arrows to puncture.

“Stop! There’s no use, they won’t get through!” Jongdae yanked Minseok’s arm down from readying more arrows. “You’re just wasting your arrows!”

“Then what do you suggest?!” Minseok spat as the snake slithered up the creek and towards them again.

“I-I!” Jongdae stammered.

“Exactly! So shut up!”

Jongdae’s lips puckered and he hung his head, he really felt useless in all this.

“But you are right. I only have so many arrows... I have an idea. But I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”

Jongdae furrowed his brows.

Minseok continued, “Get in its mouth, attack from the inside out. At least a stab to the brain or if we’re swallowed, a pierce to the heart.”

Jongdae went to retort but Minseok cut him off. “If you can think of one thing better than that, then be my guest.”

Jongdae shut his mouth right away. When he opened it again, it was to say,“…Then, we need higher ground to get inside its mouth. One of us jumps in and starts prodding its neck. The second will wedge himself at the roof of the mouth to keep it open. I suggest you jump first and I hold the mouth open.”

Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s hand and smirked. “That’s the most useful thing you’ve said this entire journey. Let’s go!”

They ran side by side uphill with the White Snake in tow. Higher up the creek, there were rock formations that jutted out and created ledges over the water. It would be the perfect spot if they could get the snake to stay below in the ravine-like area.

That’s when the idea to hang Minseok as bait from one of the ledges came to them. It worked like a charm and the snake reached for the dangling pink-robed cultivator. Stark white fangs lurched out to suck in the small human body in one large gulp.

Jongdae let go of Minseok the moment the snake struck to consume him and jumped in immediately after. They both used their swords to jab into the fleshy mouth and stop themselves from falling down its throat.

Minseok slashed his sword over and over to get through the fleshy layers, his robes soaking in blood in the process. Jongdae sat on the snake’s slithering tongue, jabbing his sword into the upper palate to keep it open enough for the two of them. The snake thrashed its body and roared deafeningly loud in their ears. The waving around and crashing into rock made the ride more difficult, even causing Minseok to slip every now and then and get further from Jongdae than anticipated. The spell between them would pull them toward one another, causing more cuts in the snake’s mouth, but the further Jongdae traveled backwards, the more the snake could close its mouth.

The White Snake’s fangs retracted in and out of its mouth, its venom sputtering everywhere to fish out the disturbance in its mouth. Blood and sweat trickled down Jongdae’s temple as he put every last bit of strength he could into holding the snake’s jaw open. The White Snake was a powerful monster filled with demonic energy that made him sick.

The venom from the snake was unavoidable and splashed onto Jongdae’s robes, searing through the fabrics and to his skin. He groaned with the pain but was able to bear it so that Minseok could make the final blow. 

But there was something wrong with Minseok after a while—he merely stood at the base of the throat, arms raised and ready to strike but unmoving.

“What are you doing?! Strike it!” Jongdae yelled at him, but Minseok did not budge.

The snake thrashed its body violently against a rock and caused both of them to stumble over. Minseok lost his footing easily and slid down the cavernous hole of an esophagus. The spiritual rope that connected them pulled Jongdae along, yanking his sword through flesh as Minseok slid further and further.

In a panic, Jongdae shot out one of his sleeves to wrap around a tooth and latch securely to it. The other sleeve raced down the snake’s throat ahead of him and searched for Minseok to grab.

Jongdae’s sleeves weren’t so long just for beautiful decoration, they were a very carefully crafted spiritual weapon that could extend dramatically and do a number of things to friend or foe. The robes were first used as a dance item, spinning and moving around the strips of cloth like beautiful cascading ribbons in a gentle breeze. The dance was one exclusive to the Jinju Peony Sect known as the Dance of Death—only a select few in the Sect were allowed to practice it. With very particular moves, fluid like a dance, one could manipulate their sleeves to extend out and whip people, capture them, strangle them to death, deflect, harden and act as a shield or a direct killing weapon. Each cultivator who mastered the art had their own flare, and if Minseok were thinking clearly, he’d be grateful to be graced by Jongdae’s effortless and graceful moves.

Minseok was not thinking clearly, at all.

The air was thick and moist, leaving his heavy breaths to become more and more labored. There was no light to see by, but he could feel how the fleshy walls around him constricted and rattled with him inside. Heavy pants turned quickly into hyperventilation—this was a nightmare come true. Minseok was unable to hold himself up or fight his way out, his body too weak. The further he traveled down the gullet, the heavier the demonic aura of the snake became. It was like a drum banging over and over in his ears and filling his being with that awful negative energy.

It was all so overwhelming that Minseok failed to notice Jongdae’s sleeve wrapping around his waist and keeping him from falling even further. With his sword in hand, Minseok grabbed his head and screamed to drown out the horror in his mind.

Jongdae’s heart plummeted hearing such a scream, but there was only so much he could do to pull Minseok back if he made no effort, himself. Fighting against the spiritual rope that kept them together was a great feat, pulling Minseok back up through the throat was an even greater one.

The demonic energy affected Jongdae, too, and the longer he spent inside the beast, the weaker he would become. He could only imagine how difficult of a time Minseok was having, as close to the heart as he was. The heart was the source of all the yin energy. All the demonic spiritual energy gathered there, blackening the creature it once used to be and turning it further and further into a human-eating monster.

Despite the thousands of screams from the demonic energy and his claustrophobic episode, Minseok had a fleeting thought. The heart was right below his feet. The sound like a drum, so loud in his ears it practically vibrated his whole being, was because the heart of the monster was right there.

In another crazed rush, Minseok yelled at the top of his lungs and shoved his sword straight through the heart. It was a mistake he would regret for years, with the way the demonic energy consumed his body, but at least the beast was slain.

It wasn’t as simple as a stab to the heart and the beast keeling over, rather, a blood-curdling howl screeched from the monster and deafened Jongdae as he struggled to pull Minseok out. The turbulence before this moment was nothing compared to the way the snake jolted its body back and forth, crying out in its last moments of life. Jongdae could hear the rocks of the mountain crack and tumble over from where he was, worrying him further that they could possibly be crushed inside by any falling boulders. This propelled his decision to sink further down and grab Minseok himself. He loosened one sleeve and tightened the other, sliding down the thick, bloody walls as demonic energy engulfed his essence.

Jongdae found Minseok wrapped in a ball of cruel demonic wisps of energy. They whispered vile words, and screamed the sorrows of innocent lost souls. He could only wonder how long Minseok had been listening to all that, wallowing in the imbalance of yin and yang energy in his body. No matter how much he called for Minseok or how much he pulled his sleeve, there was no response. Minseok was in a daze, both horrified and paralyzed with the foreign feelings surging along his meridians.

Most cultivators would have passed out at that point, but Minseok clung on. His hand still physically stabbing the heart allowed the entry of the demonic power to flow into his body and attack like a virus until nothing was left.

Just when he thought he couldn’t hang on any longer, a hand wrapped around his and yanked the sword out of the heart. Jongdae’s scream as he took on some of the demonic energy was muffled to Minseok, and even as Jongdae spoke urgent words to him, Minseok couldn’t make anything of them.

Before Minseok could process anything else, light from the outside world flooded his vision. But it wasn’t even a moment later that he was plunged back into a sheet of darkness.

As Jongdae pulled them out of the throat, the snake suffered greatly and finally landed at the precipice of a small cave opening. As its body slammed into the ground, the rock rumbled and slowly sunk until all the support underneath caved in. Jongdae had just barely made it out of the half-closed mouth when the dying snake fell. The best he could do was launch the two of them from the small opening of the mouth and grab one of the falling boulders to propel them as far as possible from the snake.

It all happened quickly, and before Minseok knew it, he had tumbled to the ground with Kim Jongdae on top, shielding his body. Rocks fell into the cavern from above, thundering echoes all about until the last one fell and piled onto the snake’s remains.

Minseok had been so stunned with the whole ordeal that he had been forgetting to properly breathe. It was a good moment before Jongdae found the strength to get off of Minseok, still trying to catch his breath. But as Jongdae settled down beside him, Minseok’s eyesight narrowed and his chest pounded with fear. Right in front of him was the entrance to the cavern that they had fallen into, but it was so far up that the light streaming in just barely graced his features and the surrounding area. Around the opening was pitch black, like he was peeping through the hole of a wall, while the walls around him seemed like they would close in on him. Minseok’s head spun with his racing heart as his breathing hitched and quickly fell into hyperventilation.

Jongdae peered over at Minseok and quickly saw the fear lacing his face. He grabbed Minseok’s wrist and checked his pulse for any abnormalities caused by the demonic energy that had been swarming him—and thankfully he did, because Minseok’s meridians were in dire need of cleansing. The demonic energy pulsed through his body, trying to take over.

Jongdae was efficient and was able to help his flow of spiritual energy. But Minseok passed out long before Jongdae could ask him anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah okay, i get this is kinda just like the cave scene with the turtle in mdzs but i drew more inspo from svsss with the mountain part where binghe and shizun have to escape tianlang jun, but also, it's kinda it's own thing at this point (...i hope)
> 
> also the sect motto of Jinju Peony is based on the famous riddle "Spoken word of day" of Hwang Jini. It was a riddle that gisaeng Hwang Jini came up with. she would allow the one who answered it, to share a bed with her. the answer is the character for 'consent'. Jinju Peony sect is also named after Jinju were Non Gae was from, gisaengs of jinju were also known for their sword dance :3


	13. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: claustrophobia, light gore at end

Minseok woke a few hours later feeling particularly relaxed. His eyes were swollen and itched when he went to rub them, as if he’d cried all night. They eventually adjusted, and his mind cleared from the haze of sleep. His head was supported on rolled clothes and his body covered with a white and green outer robe, specifically one from Jinju Peony Sect.

Vague memories flooded his mind, of a giant white snake chasing him down the mountainside, falling down into a cavern, and an overwhelming suffocation of demonic energy flowing about his body. He shuddered, remembering the feeling, but noticed how calm his own spiritual flow was at present. Everything else was lost to his memory, like being inside the snake had never even occurred. But he did remember the sight of darkness against the small light opening on the ceiling above. His heart quickened, but looking around, he found nothing. It was a pitch black room save for the small spiritual fire burning by his person. Distant patters of water echoed within the cavern, sounding as if it had traveled quite a distance. Minseok’s heart calmed upon hearing the dripping water, as it signaled the space was much larger than the hazy memories were implying. His breathing still picked up as he tried to convince himself of this thought.

His hand was grabbed with two gentle and freezing fingers.

“Are you still not feeling well?” An even gentler voice called out to him as the person sent spiritual energy through his wrist again.

Minseok stared at the delicate face beside his, the dim glow of the fire lighting it up so that it looked dewy and refreshed. Minseok seemed to forget about the room.

“I-I’m fine.” Minseok stuttered as he pulled his hand back. His body could still feel the residual demonic power burrowing through it. It would take at least a week of cleansing before he was completely cleared of it. “…What happened?”

Jongdae’s brows twitched slightly with confusion, but he quickly fixed his expression to something neutral.

“We fell down this cavern after you stabbed and killed the Great White Snake Imitator. You passed out not too long after.”

Minseok was at loss for words. Great White Snake Imitator? Was that what it was? Its scales are nearly impenetrable, when was he able to stab it?

“I helped cleanse your meridians and took a survey of our surroundings. This cavern seems manmade. I assume it belongs to the mountain tunnel system of Baekho Ridge, but it looks as if it’s been abandoned for decades.” Jongdae busied himself with digging around his qiankun bag. It was enhanced with spiritual power so it could store an immense number of items despite its small size. “There’s no way for us to reach the opening at the top of the cavern, the walls are too rounded for us to make a straight shot. My sleeves also won’t reach to pull us out. There are, however, several tunnels from this chamber. If we follow one, we’re bound to make it out somewhere.”

Minseok lay where he was for a minute and let his thoughts take everything in. Jongdae held out his hand with a few pieces of dried lotus root.

“Eat. You’ve been asleep for a while.”

Minseok tutted and snatched the lotus roots from his hands. “The problem with following the tunnels is that we could be lost for days wondering our way around. Not to mention what traps and wards they have set up. This was probably a holding cell for some creature, but it escaped.”

“I thought that too, I wondered if it might be the snake’s prison… Also,” Jongdae reached within his sleeve to pull something out. “I found this in the snake.”

He pulled out a jade stone that glistened green at the edges but was black in the center, like a cloud was storming within it.

“There’s a corruption seal on it. I think someone purposely gave it to the snake and set it free.”

Minseok took the jade stone and gave it a thorough inspection. “Huh… Funny how that would happen now, during the trial.” He handed the stone back to Jongdae.

“It makes me wonder if we were targeted on purpose,” Jongdae mused as he put the stone back in his sleeve.

Minseok snorted. “Who would target us? I have no enemies in the cultivation world… Save you.” Minseok narrowed his eyes. “…You aren’t responsible for this, are you?”

Jongdae seemed almost offended. “I’m tempted to not answer such a ridiculous question.”

“Then why don’t I remember you doing anything particularly helpful to take the snake down?!” He shot up with a fiery anger starting to burn its way through.

“That’s because—!” Jongdae tried to finish his words, but everything escaped him. He looked away, ashamed when nothing was able to come out.

Minseok shook his head. “Mark my words, if I find out it was you? This truce is over. You’re dead,” he seethed.

Jongdae sighed. “It wasn’t me.” His voice wasn’t confident, it seemed exhausted, like it was burying something down and preventing it from appearing.

Minseok was taken aback by Jongdae’s expression. He wasn’t used to it doing anything else but smiling politely or having that complacent, smug smile as if he were looking down on all in his path.

Jongdae stood up, his eyes glaring down at Minseok from so high up. “The least you could do is say thank you. I saved your life.” Jongdae turned with a whip of his robes and sat as far away on the other side of their fire as their magical tie would allow.

They slept like that for the rest of the night, far apart and brooding.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

It was far from an easy task trying to escape the labyrinth of tunnels. Minseok was constantly falling over and in need of rest. Even though Jongdae did his best to cleanse Minseok’s meridians of the demonic energy, it wasn’t enough to get him to his full potential. His spiritual base was weakened overall. It did not help that Minseok’s mental state was damaged as well. The reason why he often needed to stop was to get his breathing under check and to calm his heart down. The dark tunnels and close quarters were enough to make him feel the anxiety of his world closing in. Because of his weak state of mind, it made him inept in battle or dodging traps.

And there were plenty of traps. They acted as barriers to keep any unwanted demon or monster from escaping the mountain if they escaped from their cells. Some were as simple as dodging spears in the dark while others were more difficult, like solving a puzzle to avoid certain death.

Not knowing where an exit was, having to stop and wait for Minseok, and avoiding traps, meant that they spent well over the five-day period of the Mountain Guardian Trial in the tunnels. It was hard to tell what time of the day or week it was, but they based it off their internal clocks—at least as best as they could. They were comforted slightly with the thought that the sects were probably searching for them, but whether they would know to look in the mountain was another question of its own.

It was at least midweek when Minseok’s condition followed him into the night. Jongdae figured it best to give the man his space, as he seemed feverish with his red face, sweaty skin and sluggish movements. But one night, after Minseok struggled to get to sleep, he started screaming and crying while dreaming.

Jongdae called out for him, but Minseok shivered and cried against the wall. Jongdae then resorted to gently shaking his shoulder, hoping that it would wake him from whatever nightmare he was having.

It might have been that Jongdae’s movements were too gentle since he still did not wake, but he could hear Minseok whispering things to himself.

“…d..ar… it’s…”

Jongdae strained to hear so he leaned his ear closer.

“…it’s dark..”

Jongdae sat back on his feet and pondered for a moment before he took out his sword and made it glow with its silver spiritual power. The area they took refuge in was a small room off the sides of the tunnel that seemed to be a holding place for lesser demons.

The light that cascaded onto Minseok’s face earned a positive response: his face seemed to relax a bit.

Jongdae called out to him again, this time shaking his shoulder with more force.

Minseok’s eyes sprung open in fear. He gave a panicked look around before his gaze finally landed on Jongdae’s person. Minseok’s chest heaved rapidly, his head spun, and he turned back over to curl up into himself.

Jongdae had been getting an inkling why Minseok was acting like this, so he gently grabbed him and dragged him out into the center of the room. He had hoped that it would help calm him down with more space, rather than be huddled against a wall, but as he moved away, Minseok clung to his robes for dear life.

In the dim light of the cave, all Jongdae could hear was Minseok’s panicked breathing growing hoarser and heavier with each passing minute.

“..Please… don’t leave me.. alone.” Minseok’s voice was so small and distorted, yet it seemed thunderous in Jongdae’s ears.

He sat back on the ground and Minseok tightened his grip on the hem of Jongdae’s robes as he pressed his head against his thigh. Jongdae was able to fix their positioning enough so that instead of sprawling along the ground, Minseok was in between his legs with his face buried somewhere against Jongdae’s torso.

Jongdae felt how hot and sweaty the man’s body was. Even if Minseok wanted to be there, it was still of little help. Especially when Jongdae could see the lifeless look on the face pressed against him, lined with flowing tears.

So much was conflicted within Jongdae’s chest. The way he wanted to comfort and stroke his hair, but also to snicker and laugh at how such a proud cultivator could be whittled to this state. But the most important thought was that he didn’t know what to do. So he did what made his own restless heart feel better: he sang a song.

“ _How can I comfort you?_ _  
__I still lack so much._ _  
__My days are filled with you,_ _  
__But no one knows._

 _The night isn’t that long, so please hurry._  
 _We don’t need too many words, we already know._ _  
_Just looking at you makes tears fall.”

It was a song Jongdae had never sung before, yet the words flowed out of him like smooth silk fluttering in a summer’s wind. They came naturally to a tune he had been brewing in his heart. What he didn’t realize was that it was the start of a song that he would cherish and keep close to his heart for years to come.

Minseok’s body froze the moment Jongdae’s mellifluous voice echoed in the room. Not long after that, he closed his eyes and his breathing calmed down while he listened. Eventually, his head slumped, and he was fast asleep against Jongdae, still clinging to him for dear life.

When Minseok woke up from his slumber, he found himself clinging to Jongdae like sticky rice. His arms were tight around his slender torso and his face smothered in the scent of silk and peony. Disgruntled by the unfamiliar setting, Minseok gasped and immediately scuttled backwards. 

Jongdae woke with the sudden movements, sitting up and rubbing his eyes in the low silver light that his sword had provided during the night.

Jongdae was the first to break their awkward silence. “Do you feel any better?”

Minseok shot him a sidelong glare. “Of course I do. I would have been fine without your help.”

Jongdae wasn’t quick to retort, so Minseok watched to see what could possibly hold him back. Jongdae’s gaze was downcast, and frustrated. This look made Minseok feel a bit… guilty.

“You…” Jongdae muttered lowly. “You’ve been like that for days… How can you...!”

“How can I what?!” Minseok spat.

“How can you say something so prideful?! You were clearly not fine!”

Minseok bit his bottom lip, finding every reason not to lash out against the man trying to run his mouth.

“If it bothers you so much that I saw you so vulnerable, then I—!” Jongdae went to keep talking but his words caught within his throat. “…I…. I’ll tell you one of my secrets.”

Minseok scoffed. “What secret could you possibly tell me to even us out?!”

Jongdae hung his head and his face went blank. It took every fiber in his body to muster the courage to say this.

“The reason why I didn’t attack the snake was.. It was because…” Over and over he tried to rephrase his sentences, but nothing would ever get to the punchline.

Minseok sucked his teeth. “Don’t force yourself if you don’t want to. It’s not like I’ll care either way—”

“No! Your life was in danger and you have every right to know what my problem is.”

Minseok spat out a muffled laugh.

“I’m a coward.”

“Pffft—” Minseok keeled over laughing even harder. The whole room echoed with his cries of laughter.

“It’s not funny,” Jongdae bemoaned.

“And do you think this is some kind of joke? I’ll remember that when our truce is terminated.”

“It’s not a joke!” Jongdae’s voice raised slightly.

Minseok simply grimaced. “Then what kind of coward dares to face me off? Head disciple of Mugunghwa Valley sect? Don’t make me laugh.” He turned his back on Jongdae and pulled out his bag to have a light breakfast. “…A coward? My ass you’re a coward. An idiot? Yeah, that sounds more accurate.”

It was a long while before Jongdae joined Minseok for breakfast.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

That night, Minseok fell asleep only to be thrust into another nightmare. Even though Jongdae burned a fire talisman to light the whole night, it wasn’t enough to allay Minseok’s dreams. So Jongdae snuck over beside Minseok and woke him with a gentle voice. He woke with a fright, but with Jongdae’s beautiful face right there, he held fast onto his robes and sidled up beside him. His nightmares vanished almost immediately.

They spent four more nights sleeping by each other, with Minseok always wrapped around Jongdae in some kind of way. They would wake up awkward and silent and get a move on with traveling.

On the last day, Minseok decided to snatch the pickled radish from Jongdae’s plate before he could attempt to eat it.

Jongdae, clearly not pleased, went to berate him when Minseok returned an equal portion of his dried lotus root.

“…Thank you,” Jongdae muttered before solemnly eating them.

“No point in eating something you don’t like,” Minseok shrugged. “Anyways, the draft is starting to pick up in the tunnels. I think we’ll find an exit today. We better, at least..” He had grown accustomed to the glow of swords and talismans lighting the way, but there was only so much that could do compared to natural daylight and no walls. It was safe to say that Minseok could not wait to get out.

After a pregnant silence, Jongdae spoke up again.

“How did you know?”

“I know many things, you’re going to have to be more specific than that,” Minseok responded indifferently.

“My sect’s motto. You knew the answer to the riddle.”

“Oh, I figured it out when I first visited four years ago. Junmyeon dragged me to this boring tour of your sect because he wanted to see all the women. Our guide told us that it was a riddle, passed down since the beginning of your sect and that not many had ever figured it out. Of course, naturally, I figured it out a few days later. Your mother even congratulated me because I was writing answers down, figuring it out instead of participating in her calligraphy lesson.”

“You went to one of my mother’s calligraphy lessons? That seems unlike you.”

“Again, Junmyeon dragged me along. Really, all he wanted to do was look at beautiful girls and get their attention. And I quote him: ‘Ladies love a scholarly man.’” Minseok rolled his eyes.

He could swear he heard a light chuckle come from Jongdae while he did so.

“Even if he is a wild beast, he’s still my best friend. And a good person..” Minseok muttered the last part and let a smile gently grace his lips with the thought of his friend. “I know he’ll be one of the Hwarang one day. He’ll be one of the best.”

Once they finished their small snack of a breakfast, they headed off in hopes of finding an exit. Their journey wasn’t one of heavy banter to begin with, but Jongdae’s voice in the silence of the cave was a good distraction for Minseok—he gladly accepted any conversation that day.

“…When we get out of here..” Jongdae started in a whispered voice. “…Do we.. have to keep fighting each other?”

“Huh? What kind of dumb question is that?”

It took a moment before Jongdae said anything else. “…Nothing.. Never mind.”

Minseok tucked his hand behind his head and spoke in a proud manner, “ _Tch,_ of course we have to go back to being rivals. Who else is dumb enough to try and go against me? Let alone, who else is strong enough to even hold out against me?” He walked on without a care.

Jongdae paused in his steps and waivered for a moment.

Was that… a compliment…?

Whatever it was, it was stuck in Jongdae’s head for the rest of their traveling. He was so distracted, wracking his brain against those words, that he nearly missed a pressure plate before stepping directly on it. Had Minseok’s reflexes reacted a second too late, Jongdae would have been whatever kind of mincemeat that trap would have made him.

Minseok had used a strong arm to stretch in front of Jongdae and gave him a firm push backwards.

Jongdae looked up quizzically.

“You almost activated something.”

Jongdae looked down and saw the trap with shock. When Minseok put his arm down, Jongdae swiftly pulled out a few talismans to burn for light and sent them down the corridor of the cave. Both cultivators analyzed the situation and what kind of trap this would activate.

Just as Jongdae figured they had traveled far enough and was about to send them back, they stopped before a massive wall at the end.

“Is that…” Minseok blurted.

Jongdae’s eyes glistened with the possibility. The draft wasn’t strong, but it surely had gotten heavier the further they traveled this path. The wall at the end was split in the middle and carved into, like someone had carved crude images of tigers into the cave walls.

“It has to be,” Jongdae added. He stepped forward, avoiding the pressure plate, only to be yanked back harshly to Minseok’s side.

“Don’t.”

“But the exit is right there.” Jongdae’s brows knit with his confusion.

“Something isn’t right. They wouldn’t just set up a normal trap at the beginning of an entrance. They have to keep anyone unwanted from getting in, and the prisoners from getting out.” Minseok let him go and stepped forward to let his eyes scan over the stretch of pathway they had to cross. “Haven’t you noticed how the traps and puzzles became progressively harder the further we came this way?”

Jongdae thought for a moment before the thought registered as true.

“If they were trying to keep someone from the outside from getting in, then they might increase the difficulty of the traps toward where we started in the middle of the tunnel system. In that scenario, this would be the easiest. But that’s not the case. This trap is meant to demolish outsiders in one blow, and finish off any escaped prisoners if they reached this far.”

An unsettling realization laid thick in the air around them.

“We have to be careful,” Minseok reiterated.

Jongdae nodded in agreement.

Neither of them could sense what could possibly go wrong—the trap was well hidden. So well hidden that they both thought for a moment that it was all a fluke.

Minseok was the first to take a step forward and avoid the pressure plate. However, the moment his foot settled down, an array engraved on the ground burned in a bright golden color. Out of instinct, Minseok used his arm to shield Jongdae as he took a few steps backwards. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, growing more and more violent as time passed. A sweltering heat engulfed them, quickly thickening the air around them as the temperature rose.

It was difficult to keep balance the more the tremors roared, so Minseok held onto Jongdae and kept him close. He could feel the ground burn through his boots, like walking on a bed of coals that seemed never ending.

The tremors started to make the cave collapse. Small pieces of the roof began to fall and quickly turned into larger chunks.

Without another thought, Minseok dashed through the mess and pulled Jongdae along. The entrance was so close to them, yet too far to hope for escape before the entire roof caved in and crushed them to a smoldering hot death.

“We don’t know how to open the door!” Jongdae shouted above the noise.

“We’ll figure it out when we get there!”

“But we’re just going to die if we stay idle over there!”

Minseok spat back, “We have to at least try!”

It was too late, though—a boulder had dropped overhead and successfully separated the two of them. Jongdae’s head was quick to be hit, he stumbled backwards and just barely missed a piece of ceiling that would have crushed him to death. Instead, it grazed his side and caused him to fall over with the pain.

The ceiling rained down over them and the ground burned. There was hardly any time to think, so Minseok ran back after Jongdae.

“Stop! Just go! It’s too dangerous!” Jongdae yelled in a panic.

Minseok did not listen and dodged each falling rock with speed and precise agility.

 _“Stop!”_ Jongdae’s voice rose with his fear.

But this was still not enough for Minseok to listen and leave him.

With a racing mind, Jongdae made a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

Minseok raised his sword and was ready to send out a blast that would send the falling rocks back up for a short time. It would have been just the perfect amount of time to rescue Jongdae. But before Minseok could swing his sword, a shout of Jongdae’s melodic voice, just a simple note, rendered Kim Minseok’s body paralyzed.

Everything slowed down in Jongdae’s panicked mind, from him standing back up and wrapping his sleeves around Minseok’s paralyzed body to him running ahead and taking them to safety. The floor underneath his feet gave way with each step he took, the ceiling breaking into chunks and destroying the floor with each fallen piece. Minseok’s helpless body was kept taut in Jongdae’s sleeves, unmoving but very aware of his surroundings.

It was the most infuriating thing Kim Minseok had ever experienced in his life. Being thrown around and just barely missing falling rock because his body was out of his control. It was one of the most demeaning and mortifying things he could ever imagine happening to him. To have his mobility taken away was like a chair without a seat. It was unnatural.

Unfortunately, before Jongdae could properly move Minseok out of the way of any falling rocks, several large pieces fell on top of his head and shoulders. Skin broke immediately and caused blood to rush down his face. Minseok had no ability to dodge when he saw them coming, but he could feel every last bit of pain. The ground underneath his feet gave way the moment those pieces of rock hit the ground. He fell, but only for a short moment before Jongdae’s sleeve yanked him backwards. There was no grace to that rescue. Rock after rock impacted his body, splitting open his robes and causing blood to stain the walls.

Jongdae’s face was green with how unable to do anything he was. He wanted to hide in a corner and throw up the contents of his stomach. But he fought back his flight instincts and secured Minseok in his arms, sobbing some phrases of apologies before he fled down the rest of the hall. Minseok’s mind was too rattled around to hear anything he might have said.

When Jongdae finally reached the entrance, a vast majority of the tunnel behind them had turned into a dark abyss. They could not tell where the hole started or where it ended. The tremors had stopped once they reached the door, but the ground and walls still burned with that intense heat.

Jongdae finally put Minseok down and released the paralyzing spell when he deemed it safe enough.

Minseok’s body fell to the ground in a daze, not quite there but finally numb to the pain that bruised and scraped his bloody body.

Jongdae bit back a sob. He wanted to go to Minseok and hold him, but his heart was so terrified of what would happen that he just sat where he was.

It took every last bit of strength in Minseok to spit out the clotted blood in his chest. He clenched onto Gwangseon, still in his grip, with an angry hand. The beads of blood-infused sweat dripping down his face from the unbearable heat sizzled away with each drop that landed on the floor. Those sounds mixed with Minseok’s heavy pants were deafening in Jongdae’s ears.

It was another great feat for Minseok to rise to his feet and stalk his way over toward Jongdae.

“K-Kim Minseok, please… I-I’m so sorry, I should have asked first—”

Minseok raised Gwangseon and wound his arm back. Jongdae couldn’t see his expression, but he could feel the near-killing intent radiating from his body.

“Kim Minseok, wait—!” Jongdae yelled. He hid his face behind his arms as Minseok swung his sword down.

An explosion echoed in Jongdae’s ears, debris of rock and earth flying every which way and successfully covering him.

The door behind Jongdae had been at least a few feet thick, and nearly as tall as a building. But Kim Minseok had managed to smash the entire thing with one swing of his sword. It was the pent up energy he had been saving to blast away the falling rocks to save Jongdae. Any spells that might have been cast and infused onto the door were obliterated into nothing. A door made of solid rock smashed to nothing but smithereens. That was the pure unadulterated power that Kim Minseok possessed.

Light seeped into the cave, blinding Minseok for a moment before he stepped out through the piles of rock and rubble. Jongdae seemed to be a forgotten thing of the past as he strode by him. He paused for a moment to soak in the air and raised a purple and bloody hand to block the sunbeams from his face. They were at the base of the mountain; the forest line was not far from him. The little lighting that they could provide themselves with inside the cave had hidden the dirt that their robes and bodies had gathered. Now, they both looked like complete messes, sweaty, torn, drenched in blood and heavily injured.

Jongdae was at a complete loss for words. He had no energy to get himself out of the cave despite how cool the summer air was compared to the stifling heat in the cave. Instead he watched as Minseok walked out and took deep breath after deep breath of fresh air.

Whatever relief Minseok might have been experiencing outside vanished in a moment and Jongdae felt it.

“Kim Jongdae,” Minseok seethed. “If you ever use that power on me again…” His voice trembled. “I’ll make sure you regret every last second of your life.”

Jongdae felt his heart go cold and freeze his limbs all over. The unkind tone Minseok used annihilated any bond they might have created while they were stuck in the mountain.

A firework was shot straight into the air. The symbol of a pink Mugunghwa flower glistened in the sky for a short moment before dissipating in the sunlight.

Jongdae was surprised by the firework Minseok lit off. Cultivators were bound to be in the area and would find them in no time. Jongdae knew he had no right to feel sad about the time they spent together coming to an end. Instead, the overbearing guilt for what he had done triumphed over all other emotions. He crawled out of the scalding rock and stumbled over the ground to reach Minseok, but Minseok kept walking further and further into the forest, like a daze was clouded over his mind.

“Kim Minseok!” Jongdae shouted after him. He took no heed of the burns and pain, his mind could only focus on the man before him. Once he was out of the debris, he bowed low to the ground. “I.. I can explain.. Let me apologi—”

“Hey.” Minseok’s voice overpowered Jongdae’s. “Let’s pretend none of this happened.”

Minseok kept his back toward Jongdae.

“The trial ended days ago, our truce was broken then.”

Jongdae scrambled to his feet. The pain and overwhelming fear turned his legs into delicate twigs, ready to snap with the slightest of pressure. “Kim Minseok, wait! No!”

Off in the distance, they heard the shouts and cries of cultivators who had been searching for them since the trial had ended. All three main sects, Baekho Ridge, Mugunghwa Valley and Jinju Peony had sent out cultivators to comb the mountain high and low for the two missing men. 

Minseok’s voice became low. “From this point on, we are strangers again.”

“Kim Minseok!” Jongdae screamed again, hoping desperately that he would just turn around and acknowledge him.

Even as cultivators arrived and immediately bombarded the two with questions and care, Jongdae could not take his eyes off of Kim Minseok’s bloody form.

Minseok, on the other hand, never looked back once.

It was a good couple of months before Minseok even tried to engage Jongdae in another fight. Before he could wipe their experience from his recent memory and bury it deep within his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd say i'm sorry for all the angst, but tbh, idk if i really am.
> 
> also i can't ever write xiuchen being truly happy


	14. 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence, choking, kidnapping

When Minseok woke up, he expected to be in a soft bed sheltered within Master Shim’s monastery. Instead, he could hardly believe he was feeling the sting of cold air against his face as his body uncomfortably bounced up and down. Yet it was true—he’d been tossed over the shoulder of some unknown person who was dashing madly through a dark forest. 

With half a mind to start thrashing and angrily wiggle his way out of this masked person’s grasp, Minseok decided against it. He knew he had no way of taking this person out, they’d simply pull him back up with little trouble or knock him back out. That’s why Minseok decided it best to stay limp in the masked cultivator’s arms and pretend to be asleep until they arrived at their destination.

Minseok was almost certain that this person was the same cultivator who had attacked them in Mugunghwa Valley. Without seeing his swordsmanship, he’d never be able to tell for sure, but there was a strong enough feeling.

The cultivator ran for a few hours, putting more and more distance between them and the monastery until they arrived at a small village. The village was nestled at the side of a mountain, leaving it to be easily covered by the branches and dying leaves of tall trees. Without really taking precautions, the masked cultivator sauntered through the streets of the quiet village and straight for a run-down inn. There was a stale smell of old wood and musty rugs that could be discerned, but Minseok refrained from opening an eye for fear of someone noticing him being awake.

Suddenly, the sound of furiously-flapping wings came into earshot. Then a hoarse scream whistled out before forming words in a high pitched voice. “Young Master, have you any news?”

Minseok’s brows twitched at the awful sound coming from the creature, it almost reminded him of the scream of a hawk.

“Yes, tell the Master I have his prize. I’ll be waiting here for further instruction.”

The voice that answered the bird creature spoke lowly, making it difficult to discern just who owned that voice.

“Greatly obliged. Take care, Young Master.” There was another horrific screech and the sound of wings madly flapping dissipated in the wind.

Minseok sensed no demonic aura from this man, so what cultivation sect did he belong to? Was there a sect that possessed birds as foul communicators? No matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.

Just then, a heavy weight slammed into his chest and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Minseok groaned at the pain and looked down to find a boot shoved against his chest.

“Stop pretending, I know you’re awake.” The voice of this cultivator was now masked, sounding distorted and scratchy, almost like a person mining for gems and gold with a sieve and pan.

Minseok was still for a moment. “…Then if you knew I was awake, you should have bound me.” Just as he finished his sentence, Minseok latched onto the cultivator’s ankle and bent the foot back.

It wasn’t forceful enough to push the unwanted cultivator away but it was enough to cause him to yank it back and lunge at Minseok’s throat with a pale hand.

Minseok clutched the arm that was choking him and slowly lifting him from the ground to press him against the wall.

“We both know you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” The cultivator had a smug tone to his altered voice, like he was smiling behind the blurring concealment spell on his face.

With just a single thumb the cultivator pressed hard against the prominence of Minseok’s throat, making him spit and gurgle at the uncomfortable pressure. “…Amazing.. How fragile the mortal body is without its spiritual powers. How weak your golden core is… How the great bursting Kim Minseok can’t even implode with anger to save himself.” The man tutted. “Such a shame.” Then he released Minseok and let him drop back on his rear.

Minseok coughed and held onto his throbbing neck, orienting himself for a good while.

“Who…Who are you? What.. have I ever done to you?” Minseok managed to choke a few rasped words.

“Me? Oh nothing, really. But rather… It’s what you know.” The cultivator took out his sword, its hilt and blade both masked with the concealment spell as well. “Besides, who doesn’t love slapping down an arrogant asshole?”

 _Is he with the people that killed me before? Then does that mean… They don’t know I have no memories?!_ Minseok thought exasperatedly, but his face paled, knowing he’d never stand a chance against this sword. His legs felt like jelly, how could he stand to defend himself at all?

“I haven’t even told you what I know and yet you’ll cut me down before your Master arrives?!” Minseok asked in a rush.

“There was never an agreement whether you were to be alive or not.” Minseok could hear the amusement in the cultivator’s voice despite the uneven tone.

The sword struck down at his throat, nearly grazing the prominence but able to lift up his chin. The cool sting of the blade radiated down his body, like the power wanted to surge through him and tell him who this person was, but there was just no way for Minseok’s energy to cooperate.

“I made the mistake of killing you too soon. Now my Master will be able to have a word with you before I end your life. Again.” There was no physical way to see it, but Minseok could feel the smirk on the man’s lips.

Minseok froze with the information. This was his killer. _This was his killer._ This was the cultivator who chased him in Mugunghwa Valley.

The anger simmering in Minseok’s stomach turned to a broil and began to roar and rise inside him. He felt his cheeks rush with the heat of blood, his whole body becoming hot with rage.

“Aww, the wittle mousie is upset? Is there nothing he can do to save himself?” The cultivator instigated in a sing-song tone. It was childish and uncalled for, and it only added to Minseok’s fury.

Minseok bit his tongue to keep himself from spewing slurs or any kind of angry thought.

“If you’ve killed me once and know I’m going to die again, what use is there to conceal yourself? You’re just wasting spiritual power at this point.” Minseok rested his back against the wall and wore a rather cocky smile.

The cultivator gave no response and stood there with the sword still held at Minseok’s neck. There was no way for him to see what the cultivator’s expression was, but he could only assume it wasn’t anything kind.

“…All the better to reveal myself when I’ve slit your throat and you bleed to death staring into my eyes. At the very last second when there’s nothing for you to do but die and never get to avenge yourself.” The cultivator shrugged and began to retract his sword. “Maybe we’ll even take Lord Sungjeong by the hair and decapitate his pretty little head to make sure you never come back.”

Like natural gas imploding with so much as a spark, Minseok burst in a fit of rage and kicked the cultivator’s sword. It stunned him for a moment, so Minseok used that to his advantage—snapping to his feet and landing two quick but effective punches on the cultivator’s chest. In another second, as the cultivator stumbled back and held onto his chest, Minseok grabbed for the wood and wicker chair at the table next to them and threw it square in his direction.

The chair was blocked! The cultivator smashed it to the side with his bare arm and it blew into smithereens. Minseok’s brows furrowed with the sheer power of the blow and he wondered what kind of cultivator sent their spiritual power to an arm to shatter something so simple like a chair. The cultivator then lunged forward with his sword and Minseok just barely dodged it.

Almost as if the cultivator had expected that, he turned on his heel and went to land a few solid hits with his free arm. Minseok just barely managed to block his attacks, they were strong and much too fast for him to properly deflect. He took the brunt of most of them, resulting in the room becoming a disorderly mess.

Just as Minseok was going to do his best and go on the offensive, a flash of white whipped across the window and two long strips of white cloth blazed through and ensnared the cultivator. His sword hand froze in midair as he was about to land a fatal blow on Minseok. The white cloth was thick and strong, nearly completely covering the cultivator and constricting him to suffocation.

Through the window, another cultivator jumped. His black locks of hair flowed easily with the force of wind and his expression was severe. His eyebrows were taut and and made a few wrinkles of anger, but the look in his beautiful eyes said more than enough.

“Kim Jongdae…” Minseok muttered under his breath. Immediately, Minseok felt a wave of relief cover him and his body relaxed tenfold. He could honestly say he was never happier to see him.

Jongdae raised his right arm high and pulled his left one back, manipulating the sleeves of his robes that ensnared the masked cultivator. Minseok watched as Jongdae pulled his sleeves taut, immobilizing the cultivator fully. The look in his eye was severe—Minseok could almost feel the murderous intent lacing that stare.

Minseok opened his mouth, ready to thank Jongdae, but for some reason, none of that came out. 

“I could have handled it myself.” 

A big question mark rose in Minseok’s head. Why did he just say that? He wanted to thank him! Not antagonize him!

Jongdae glowered over at Minseok. Minseok stepped back and dropped his head in shame.

The more the masked cultivator struggled, the tighter the cloth of the sleeves spun itself, condensing him and restricting his innards, little by little.

“Who are you? What do you want with him?” Jongdae’s usual calm and collected voice was nowhere to be heard. Now it was dark and laced with hostility.

The masked cultivator did not answer. Instead, he struggled to get a proper hold of his sword to slice down his bondage.

“He was about to reveal his face to me before you came barging in,” Minseok said off-handedly.

Jongdae snapped his head to Minseok with that furious glint again.

“He knows that I know.” Minseok raised his brows and dropped his chin, signaling and desperately hoping that Jongdae would take his hint and keep this secret. Minseok didn’t know any information anymore, but it was best to keep the enemy in the dark. Keep them thinking he knows. Let him be a threat to them.

The cultivator only grunted and struggled to get free, not once giving the two of them a second glance.

Jongdae tutted in annoyance and pulled both his arms back. The sleeves wove further up the cultivators body and duly wrapped itself around his neck. With a spin in his step Jongdae twirled around and the sleeves crossed, almost suctioning the cloth against the masked cultivator’s body.

“If you will not talk, then I will break you.” There was no falter in Jongdae’s hissing voice. 

Minseok’s brow twitched in astonishment at the words to fall out of Jongdae’s mouth. Sure, the two of them used to have some vulgar banter between them, but he had never heard such.. Violent things from his pretty little mouth.

Minseok almost had the urge to slap himself for thinking the words “pretty” and “mouth” in the same sentence. He may well have actually done it if it weren’t for the sudden change in the room. A wave of demonic aura surrounded them. Minseok could hardly tell—if it weren’t for the hairs on the back of his neck that stood up, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Jongdae’s attention was drawn even more sharply to the person in his grasp. “Get behind me!” he growled at Minseok.

Minseok complied with a quick, yet shaky step. Both of them broke out in a cold sweat as they watched the once struggling cultivator go limp. Without warning, a mass of black shot out of the man’s back and broke through the roof! The demonic aura they had been feeling before was blaring over them, all coming from the masked cultivator.

Like a massive black hand and arm, it came back down through the roof and swept itself along the room. Minseok’s reflexes allowed him to move and he dove for Jongdae, tackling the both of them to the ground before the hand could hit them.

The hand steadied itself and slashed Jongdae’s sleeves, breaking the trapped man free. A sick and twisted laugh bellowed from the cultivator’s mouth.

Minseok and Jongdae scrambled to their feet, side by side and ready to defend themselves.

“We gave you a choice. And you’ve chosen wrong. Twice,” the cultivator said as he loomed closer. That dark aura around him was thick with malice and the intent to kill, suffocating the room and all inside.

The hand swooped for them again. Jongdae jumped in front of Minseok and pulled out his sword to deflect it.

The clash between blade and hand was immense. Jongdae tried to stand his ground but the hand pushed him back ever so slightly. Minseok’s eyes darted around the room, looking for anything he could use to distract or weaponize. Without his sword or spiritual powers, there really was little he could do. The power of the hand was strong against Jongdae’s blade, not to mention that Jongdae was probably still weak from spending all his spiritual power on Minseok. Who knew how long he had been traveling, either, or how much spiritual energy he must have exhausted on the way there.

Before Minseok could step out and grab for a chair or anything to attack with, the hand bearing down on Jongdae released. Instead, it changed its direction and headed straight for Minseok. Unable to defend himself, Minseok was grasped in the demonic hand and smashed into the side wall. His body felt the cracking of bones and splinters of wood nailing into him. Minseok screamed with the pain.

 _“Minseok!”_ Jongdae ran for him, making a sign with his two first fingers and his sword flew out to attack the hand. The cuts of the blade were like sticks running through mud, the wounds healing back up like they were nothing!

Minseok struggled to push back the fingers that pinned him to the wall, fighting through the pressure building up. As he struggled, he couldn’t help but notice Jongdae’s expression, how helpless he looked while trying to cut through the hand. Minseok shifted his gaze down the arm and to the cultivator still shrouded in darkness. His body looked to be shaking with some sort of laughter. All was calm with him except for his own personal arm that seemed to be outstretched, holding out his hand. It was at that moment an idea flashed through Minseok’s head.

“Kim Jongdae!” he shouted. “Him! He’s the source! Attack the base!”

Jongdae didn’t need to think twice after he glanced at the cultivator. His sword changed direction in an instant. Like silver lightning bearing down, the sword was quick to slice that arm clean off.

The giant hand pinning Minseok to the wall reared backwards and seemed to screech in an agonizing kind of pain. The cultivator himself did not utter a sound. He only stumbled backwards and lazily held the spot his arm once occupied.

The arm protruding from his back fizzled like it was fading, having difficulty staying in one spot.

Minseok fell to the ground with a thud, his body hunched over and crumpled. With the sudden shift, he felt his bones and wounds move as well, causing a whole new flare of pain to surge. He bit his lip to suppress a scream, but as soon as he felt a hand snake under his stomach and pull him away, he let out a yelp of agony.

Jongdae had whisked him away once more. Barely coherent, Minseok watched as trees passed by like blurs, icy wind against his burning sweat. At some point he gave up trying to stay awake and fight the pain and just let it consume him. The shifting around in Jongdae’s arm made nothing better, but there was a faint warmth surging from the spot Jongdae’s hand was tucked against him. He was sending him spiritual energy to heal the wounds. Even if it wasn’t much, it was still something to help him manage. Jumping from tree to tree in all kinds of directions in hopes of losing any pursers really did have an unpleasant effect on Minseok, but it was far too risky for them to fly. It would be too conspicuous.

Minseok had no clue how long they ran for, but when he finally felt the biting wind die down and an extra layer of warmth covered his front, he felt more at peace. The extra warmth came from Jongdae’s outer robe, for he had taken it off and neatly placed it over Minseok. Jongdae had settled them once again in the thick of the forest, covered by the dying trees and bushes.

“Minseok..” Jongdae called gently for his attention. “Minseok, stay with me. How are you feeling?” With an easy hand he lifted Minseok’s face towards him, trying to keep his attention on him.

 _“Kim_ Minseok.” Minseok answered in a snide, yet meek tone.

Jongdae was confused for a moment before a breathy chuckle left his mouth. “Yes, that’s right. _Kim_ Minseok. Where does it hurt?” Jongdae stroked Minseok’s hair behind his ear, giving the resting man nothing but a calm smile.

“My chest.. It hurts so much.. And my shoulder…” Minseok said as his head lolled backward, eyes rolling back with the pain ripping through his body. He had broken many bones before, several at once to be more specific, but never in all his years was it this painful.

Minseok wasn’t sure, but it almost felt as if Jongdae’s hand shook against his cheek. His cold hands had a light tremor as they withdrew. If it weren’t for how fuzzy his eyesight was, he would have been able to see how pained and forced the smile was that Jongdae was giving him.

“Are.. you okay?” Minseok asked quietly with furrowed brows. Why was Jongdae behaving so oddly?

Jongdae stiffened and widened his eyes at the man below. “I-I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Just rest.”

Not unlike a while ago, Jongdae sidled up to him and pressed his hand against Minseok’s chest. Another wave of warmth spread throughout his body as Jongdae’s spiritual energy burst throughout to help his healing process.

Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s arm and held it firmly for comfort. “Thank you… Kim Jongdae.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Jongdae smiled softly.

“You saved me again.” Minseok’s fingers subconsciously stroked Jongdae’s arm.

“…And I’ll do it over and over.” A light whisper emitted from Jongdae’s lips.

Minseok frowned at that. “But you can’t keep doing that forever.”

“I will if I must.”

“No!” Minseok slightly raised his voice. “We can’t… We can’t keep running like this. We have to face them sooner or later. They’re hot on our tails, there’s only so much we can do to escape them.”

“Then what would you have me do?!” Jongdae whipped his head toward Minseok. “You are in no condition to defend yourself, and there’s only so much I can do to keep you attached to this world _and_ defend the both of us!” He dug around his side and pulled out Gwangseon, throwing at Misneok’s lap. 

Minseok was confused for a moment but realized that Gwangseon must have been left at the monastery while he was kidnapped. He sighed heavily as he put the sword to the side, it was a bitter reminder of how useless he was. “If we don’t confront them, then we’re going to be in this cycle forever. Running away and never getting better.” Minseok brought his voice back down, realizing that a calmer approach to this might be better for Jongdae. His body seemed to falter, like he was petrified by something.

Jongdae’s head slumped down, his hair covering most of his facial expression but Minseok could see his teeth gritted.

“If it was just me being affected by this situation, that’s one thing. But I’m not. You are suffering just like me. And I can’t live with that right now. We have to stop this, for both our sakes.”

It was a good while before Jongdae straightened up and gave him a response. “…Only on one condition.”

“What?”

“You must promise me, before you hear it.” Jongdae said, his tone indifferent.

“I promise.” Minseok said without a second’s thought.

“…That you’ll live.”

Minseok felt his heart drop. How could he possibly promise that?

“After all of this, you must live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huh this was a short chapter


	15. 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: lil bit of violence with corpses, teeny tiny bit of bloody nose at the end

The next morning Minseok woke to another cold dawn nipping at his cheeks and nose. But the warmth on his front was everything he needed to want to stay asleep.

Minseok’s eyes shot open once he realized that the warmth on his front was, once again, a human body. His left arm was cast over Jongdae’s midsection, but he was the only one covered with the outer robe.

With half a mind to take away his arm, he felt soreness shoot up his shoulder as he started to pull away.

 _I suppose… it’s not.. that bad…_ Minseok thought as he rested his head back down and closed his eyes. It was warm and Jongdae’s hair did have a particularly nice smell. However, the moment he got himself into a comfortable position, Jongdae shifted and curled into him further, pressing himself flush against Minseok’s front. It was so warm and inviting, so if it weren’t for the fact that Jongdae had just pressed himself against Minseok’s groin, he would have stayed there the rest of the morning!

Minseok tried to scoot himself away a little, but the aching pain in his body made it difficult. Of course, all that movement woke Jongdae up to a very aggressive start. With a sweep of his hand, his sword was whipped out and he pushed Minseok back,threatening him with a blade to the neck.

“Hey, it’s me! It’s only me!” Minseok pleaded.

The realization didn’t take long. Jongdae climbed off Minseok and calmly put his sword away.

“Did you.. have your arm around me?” Jongdae asked, careful not to incite anything in Minseok.

“Mm!” Minseok bit his tongue before he said something stupid. His body flushed over with a wave of heat and embarrassment that nearly caused him to run away and never look back. Instead, he cleared his throat and stuck his chin up just slightly, trying to give himself some face. “Y-Yes, I did,” he said, matter-of-fact. “Since a young age I have noticed—” He dared speak on knowing very well that no one else knew this about him besides Junmyeon. “That I tend to hold things to my person in my sleep.” 

Minseok’s cheeks were so red and his chest was so puffed out with how dignified he was trying to be, but all Jongdae did was stifle a laugh. Minseok glanced over (having found it difficult to look at him before this) and watched as he covered his mouth with a delicate and pale hand. The weather was so cold and yet he was wearing just the under-robes. He must have been freezing.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Jongdae smiled such a sweet smile, not baring any teeth. Just those lips and the curve of Jongdae’s eyes had Minseok’s chest thumping faster than normal. 

_That was a nice smile._ It was sincere and just so.. simple. He had never seen him make such a soft smile before. All these new faces he had never seen before and a dark part of his heart whispered in his mind, saying, “I want to see them all. I want to see all the kinds of faces he can make,” but he shrouded those whispers down. What kind of thoughts were those, anyways? Although he saw Jongdae in a much different light, it was hard for him to accept the fact that maybe he liked him a little more than he thought.

Jongdae was awfully apologetic about the whole ordeal, making sure that Minseok was warm enough before they decided to head out again. Jongdae never took back his robe, instead he draped it on Minseok’s shoulders and rubbed his arms to instill warmth via friction. Minseok was unopposed to it, in fact, he quite welcomed being so warmed up.

“What do you suggest we do to confront them? I don’t doubt they’ll be furious by now.” Jongdae asked as he helped warm Minseok up.

“Well, since we can’t find them, we need to let them come to us again. We need to stay out in the open so they can access us easily. I suggest we stay in a nearby village inn, a nice one. One where we can finally sleep in beds.”

“Are you saying that just so you can sleep in a comfortable place?” Jongdae grimaced.

“Uhh,” Minseok’s voice quivered with his guilt. “Yes and no. Yes I want to sleep in a warm bed for the first time in who knows how long. But it’s also the easiest spot to be discovered in a busy village and inn. It’s not like we’ll get much sleep, they’ll find us long before we get a good night’s rest.”

Jongdae thought to himself silently for a moment. “Then.. we should follow the road east. We’ll steer clear of your master’s monastery.”

Minseok nodded with a light smile. “I appreciate that.” He left an eye lingering over Jongdae’s form as the cultivator turned around and set out through the forest to a main road.

They traversed a good distance through the forest with a very on-edge Jongdae. He was tense and flinched at every little sound. Minseok almost felt bad for him, but he knew this was for the best, for both of their sake. Without food to fill their stomachs again, Minseok gladly did a bit of foraging as they walked through. Growing up in a sect surrounded by dense forest, it was like child’s play for him to go look for wild edible snacks that mostly consisted of greens and a few mushrooms.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to happen upon a main road. It was also fortunate that they hadn’t spent their time traveling in silence. In fact, they were quite talkative about routes of action they should take upon meeting the enemy—which of course they found themselves mostly bickering over.

“How much money do you have left?” Minseok asked with gusto.

Jongdae raised a brow. “…Plenty to live off of for now. Why do you ask?”

“I need a bow and arrows. We should buy one in town.”

Jongdae was silent and thoughtful to himself for a moment. “It won’t be of great quality. And you don’t have any spiritual powers to use it with.”

“I may not have powers right now, but I still have skill. I know how to use a bow and arrow without my spiritual powers,” Minseok responded with quite the sarcastic glint in his tone.

Jongdae grimaced to the man beside him. “Yes, but accuracy is not up to you.”

“Look,” Minseok crossed his arms on his chest. “If you’re worried about money, I’ll make sure to repay you tenfold when this is all settled.” After all, what Minseok felt like he owed Jongdae was something no one person could ever achieve. He’d live the rest of his life making it up to Jongdae, just to repay the debt of holding onto his life. With a mumble he said, “And I won’t fight you anymore—” He mumbled the rest of his words, too incoherent even for Jongdae to understand.

Jongdae stared at him with an indistinguishable expression, “It’s not money that I’m worried about. Rather, should you really be handling something so low-quality?”

Before Minseok had a moment to really process those words and blush like a maniac, Jongdae shifted his head and his expression grew grim.

“What is it?”

“I hear something,” Jongdae said curtly, listening carefully to whatever was in the distance.

Minseok knew better than to try and listen. He’d never hear anything at this distance.

“Someone’s fighting.”

“Is it them, do you know? Does the other person need help?” Minseok asked with adrenaline starting to pump within him.

“No… It’s demons. It sounds like cultivators ahead. Let’s go see if they need help.”

Without a second's thought, Jongdae grabbed Minseok’s hand and ran down the path. Minseok didn’t even think twice about the hand holding his, in fact, he held back on to the delicate hand. What he did think about was how cold those fingers were. Frail, they almost seemed. But when Jongdae held his sword and bore an expression that could murder one with just a glance, just how delicate were those fingers then?

They ran for a good while before Minseok could hear the slashing of swords and the wails of unfortunate souls meeting their demise. But as they came into view of what was happening, on the road was a group of ten or fifteen cultivators dressed in golden robes with the crest of the Lanling Jin sect, the Spark Amidst the Snow.

They fought with grace against a group of walking corpses, their footwork quite elegant and refined. There were dozens of dead corpse bodies on the ground, but surrounding them were somewhere between fifty and sixty more. They must have gone through at least a hundred corpses.

Jongdae drew his sword and took a step out to stand in front of Minseok. Minseok, feeling disheartened by the fact that he needed to be careful, grimaced with annoyance as they neared the group of cultivators.

With grace and the utmost of poise, Jongdae stepped out and lent his skills to the cultivators. It looked as if not many of them had been harmed, if any at all. But as Minseok surveyed the envoy (with a jealous eye, ready for action), he recognized two of them in particular.

One cultivator stood tall with inky black hair flowing long down his back. The top had been pulled back into a small ponytail and covered with a crown—very regal. He was built like an ox, brawny in the shoulders with a full face to fill the rest out. The second was more to his own height, built as a fine young man and slim at his waist. His hair was tied back with bangs and a few loose strands of the dark brown hair to frame his face nicely. His eyes were not nearly as steely as the tall one next to him, but were a softer tone. Based off of these details alone Minseok could gather just who these two cultivators were: infamously known as the Two Spring Nights, Wu Yifan and Zhang Yixing! Named for the two kinds of springs nights one feels, some cold and bitter and not quite summer, others warm and airy but not quite blossomed.

No more than a few minutes later, the corpses were taken care of. Jongdae quickly found his way to Minseok’s side and sheathed his sword. Not a speck of blood or dirt was anywhere to be found on Jongdae’s robes, Minseok noted as he gave him a once over, as to be expected. Minseok nearly smiled with the proud thought but quickly caught himself when Wu Yifan and Zhang Yixing walked over.

Both pairs saluted one another, the rest of the envoy following suit as they picked up the corpses and began taking care of the situation.

“Jin Xiumin and Xing Chen, a pleasure to meet you on these roads.” Yixing gave them a bright smile, one that was pure and could only be from the depths of his heart.

“Although yes, it is a pleasure to see you, it is odd. Why are you so far from the capital?” Minseok questioned.

“We could ask the same of you,” Yifan inquired back. As he did so he turned around and rummaged around one of the carriages closest to him.

Minseok nodded,. “That is a fair question. But my presence is not nearly as important as yours. Is everything alright?”

“Well… More or less…” Yixing stammered as he bashfully looked down at the ground.

From behind him, Yifan sighed heavily. “If you are not in a rush to be anywhere, we would be glad to tell you the story.” He turned around with two thick robes, similar to theirs but built for the growing cold weather.

“We are in no rush in particular,” Minseok said nonchalantly, but Jongdae tensed beside him. He tugged on the side of Minseok’s sleeve as if warning him not to have them tag along.

Minseok only casually pulled away from his hold and held back onto Jongdae’s wrist. It was a gentle hold telling him that everything would be fine. Even if they were being pursued, the members of Lanling Jin Sect could more than take care of themselves.

Yifan sauntered over to the two and dressed them briskly with the robes in his hands. Minseok and Jongdae broke away to fix the robes on themselves. Not a soul had seen the small interaction between them earlier. 

“By the lack of proper attire, I would assume something has happened to you as well. We might as well share and learn a thing a two.” Yifan’s voice was a deep one, and only showed emotion when something bothered him.

Both Minseok and Jongdae thanked them silently for the robes and listened intently to their absurd little story. Apparently, Yixing had led them astray when crossing borders. It was a complete accident, but why he was ever in charge of directions was a mystery to the whole group of cultivators. They were to meet cultivators of the Mugunghwa Valley sect at the seaside border—closest to the western part of the country. However, because Yixing had gotten them so lost on the way, they ended up on a different side of the coast. 

After they got in contact with the main capital through spiritual messages, Jung Junmyeon agreed to send out another envoy to retrieve and escort them to the capitol for the evaluation. It was mostly out of politeness that they were to be escorted to the capital, as the Langlin Jin Sect members should have known the way on their own. But with Yixing taking them ahead across the sea, they were lost indefinitely. The odd part of the story, though, had not been that they had been lost from the capital for a few days, but that the envoy Junmyeon had sent over had never greeted them either. Instead, they were ambushed by demonic cultivators and their corpse puppets.

Minseok’s face contorted with an aggressive kind of confusion. Junmyeon, his childhood friend, had never kept secrets from him. He couldn’t possibly have any motivation to be in league with demonic cultivators!

But it made sense, really.. He was the closest person to Minseok.. It would have been easy information for him to know Minseok’s whereabouts and send someone to kill him. It could be a “keep your friends close, but enemies closer” kind of situation.

Minseok tightened a fist and Jongdae side-eyed him, feeling the anger and tension grow from the person next to him. With a swift movement, Jongdae let his hand slide past their robes and gently held onto the fist, calming him down. Minseok felt a wave of tension release from his body and he quickly started relaxing his body. His mind cleared of anger and turned fuzzy with the warm hand that held his. It was odd to him that just this simple interaction was dissipating his anger. Minseok’s heart thumped in his chest and he quickly pulled his hand away from Jongdae’s. His cheeks grew a very light shade of pink and he took a step away. That foreign feeling really did make his body uncomfortable.

To distract his mind from what just happened, Minseok told the cultivators in turn of their situation—with a bit of embellishment. Minseok gave the account that he and Jongdae were visiting his old master when someone ambushed them. Now they were on their way to another town to see if they were still being followed.

“Wonderful! Do you mind if we tag along?” Yixing asked with a complete change in mood (that was squelched earlier by Yifan’s scathing description of his navigating abilities). A bright smile now danced on his lips.

“I don’t—”

“I would be honored to have you come with us,” Minseok interrupted Jongdae curtly.

Jongdae gave a glare to the man beside him but gave in and let him take the lead on this.

“I would love to get to see the country more. And then we can probably meet adversaries! I’d love to test the skill level of someone from another country!” Yixing looked as if he was bouncing on his tiptoes just thinking about a dashing fight with someone.

Minseok chortled. 

As they conversed Yifan seemed to eye them from the sides, his gaze piercing and quite intimidating. It made Jongdae uneasy.

“This is not right,” Yifan finally said.

Minseok raised a brow. “What isn’t?”

“You. And you.” Yifan shifted his gaze between Minseok and Jongdae. “That is not right.”

Jongdae’s face went pale. Minseok simply raised a brow.

“Jin Xiumin. You hate Xing Chen.”

Minseok’s face paled this time and his body froze. He had completely forgotten that the Two Spring Nights both knew of their rivalry! In fact, the last time the Lanling Jin Sect had been around, the Kim Tempests had practically destroyed half the royal stables because of a fight.

Both Zhang Yixing and Wu Yifan were closer to Minseok than they were to Jongdae, but they had to keep up formalities.

Minseok’s mouth twitched. “Uh.. Heh, y-yeah—”

“The sect leaders were fed up with our behavior and sent us away for the check-in,” Jongdae interjected smoothly. “Seeing that we nearly ruined the last one, they ordered us to spend time together away. We’ve been together for nearly a month now and the results are… satisfactory.”

“Satisfactory?!” Minseok nearly shouted. Satisfactory was such a bland way of saying it! Kim Minseok could barely walk within the same vicinity as Kim Jongdae without feeling the burning rage of ripping his head from his shoulders before this whole ordeal!

Yifan narrowed his eyes. “So it would seem..”

Whispers came from the cultivators behind them, each of them gossiping over what they had just heard.

Yifan turned to them with a striking glare and made sure they got back to work.

Yixing’s face seemed to be in awe of Minseok and Jongdae. “So… People really do change…” He cast a low gaze to the hulking man beside him. “Anyways, let’s get to the village as soon as possible. If we’re any later, I’m sure there will be an upheaval!” With a beaming smile, Yixing turned on the balls of his feet and went off to help move some of the corpses.

Not much later and after many whispers to one another, Minseok and Jongdae were tagging along with the band of Lanling Jin Sect members. Most of their whisperings were small bickerings of why they should tag along or not. 

The Lanling Jin Sect had come prepared with gifts for the sects and all the paperwork for making sure things were running smoothly. After all, it was by the will of the mainland of cultivation that outlying countries could practice cultivation centuries ago. Only recently did the Chief Cultivator decide that the land across the sea needed regulation with the serious influx of demons and demonic cultivators in recent years. Even though the previous Chief Cultivator, Jin Guangyao, had perished and a new one had yet to be appointed, the Lanling Jin Sect decided to keep regulating as before, as it was the sect of the Chief Cultivator’s duty to make sure nothing was amiss in places that practiced cultivation. Help from the Lanling Jin Sect was successful, however, it was entirely possible that if the demonic cultivation problem could not be controlled, there would be a serious dictatorship of mainland cultivation over their small country. In the worse case scenario, powers could be sealed away. 

Just as nightfall was upon them, they arrived at a bustling village. Stall owners yelled out and tried desperately to gather customers before the sun hid behind the mountains. Some stall owners, noticing the fine robes of the cultivators, even called out to them, thinking they would have a decent amount of coin to spend. One merchant had a particularly enticing voice to Minseok and yelled out, “You there! Young Master! You could use a spiritual weapon, no?”

Normally, Minseok would never have thought to give a mere sleazy stall owner a second glance. But he did want to purchase a bow. He paused in his steps and eyed the wares hanging from the slanted roof above the merchant’s head. After a long day of walking, Minseok was feeling rather tired again, so he blamed that for his mind not working quite properly and sauntered over to inspect the bows.

“Ah, you have a good eye, Young Master! These bows are some of the finest crafts out of the region—!” The man spewed all kinds of random nonsense about the bows, but Minseok wasn’t listening at all.

He picked one out and drew the string back as if to let loose an arrow. It was a sturdy enough bow, dark in color and very sound. Minseok whipped around as if to aim down his sights at something further away, but immediately he met with Jongdae’s chest.

Under the light of the setting sun, the rays danced on Jongdae’s face. His eyes squinted slightly at the brightness and he brought a hand up to shield his face as he neared the stall and Minseok.

Having the breath drawn from his lips at the way Jongdae’s eyes glistened in the light, Minseok let the string loose. The wind by his face carried his bangs forward ever so slightly, but none of it was enough to distract his eyes from Jongdae’s form.

“Do you like it?” Jongdae’s sweet and alluring voice rang in his ears suddenly. He hadn’t even noticed that the man was right in front of him.

“…I do.” Minseok said in a breathy tone, his stare aimless and not really paying attention to what he was doing.

He hadn’t even noticed when Jongdae slipped a few coins to the merchant, nor the moment when the merchant spouted some nonsense about the arrows being the finest quality he owned. Instead, Minseok took it all, slung everything on his back like Bom had never been missing from his person, and walked off down the street.

Jongdae trailed not too far behind, sensing that something was odd with Minseok and figured it best to give him space. After all, they did spend a lot of the day arguing over small matters.

The night grew longer and the Lanling Jin cultivators all met up with Minseok and Jongdae at the nicest inn in the village. They were all ready for a meal and good rest.

“Pardon our intrusion, but we are traveling with a group of fifteen others. Would you be able to provide lodging for them first?” Jongdae took the lead to speak to the innkeeper. As a son of the leader of the Jinju Peony sect, he immediately offered to pay for their lodging.

The innkeeper smiled, a panicked smile at that, and did a few counts. She whispered to one of the staff members beside her and brightened her smile for Jongdae. “Young Masters, we have plenty of lodging for the evening. We have a single bedroom that can fit four beds, three rooms with three beds and one double left.”

Jongdae flashed that perfect smile of his, “That is more than desirable. We will take it for these guests.”

The innkeeper smiled a weary smile as she went to eye the bag of money in Jongdae’s hand. “Of course. However, are you here just to buy them rooms? Will you Young Masters not be needing a room for the night?”

“Oh, yes. We will be needing one as well,” Minseok added.

The innkeeper looked as if she would sweat buckets with how nervous her smile was growing. “Young Masters. I unfortunately don’t have any more doubles left. All the doubles we had are going to be used to make larger rooms for the folks behind you.. I only have one single left..”

Minseok’s face took a moment to let her words settle in before going pale.

Only one single left

Only. One. Single. Left.

…Oh.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

Before Minseok could get in another thought, he was whisked away by the hand to a more secluded part of the inn, closest to the stairs leading up. Yixing had taken him from whatever conversation was going to ensue and it honestly caught everyone off guard.

Minseok snatched his hand back once his mind finally processed what was happening. Yixing was taken aback for a moment and stared at the loss of connection between them. That bright smile that usually played on his lips was no longer there while he stared. The last thing Minseok wanted was for Yixing or Yifan to catch wind of his physical state. Of course, with this sudden contact, there was no way Yixing wouldn’t know now.

However, he never said anything about it and simply went on with whatever he had to say before. “Are you feeling all right? Everyone’s noticed how.. sickly you look, and you’re not in your normal robes. And your bow! Where is Bom? You never travel without Bom.. Anyways, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay and that Young Master Xing Chen wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary to you. I know you two didn’t get along, but I also know young master Xing Chen isn’t the kind of person to play petty pranks on you like that… So.. I thought I’d take you aside and you could tell me everything that was going on…” Yixing spoke with a hushed voice, albeit quickly and filled with his bustling energy.

Minseok had made a few trips to the Central Plains to visit the Lanling Jin Sect and grew a relationship with this spring pair somehow. It was mostly because of formalities that they had interactions, as the first disciple and Junmyeon the heir to the sect, they often met at official events. Naturally, Minseok’s skill caught the attention of the late sect leader Jin Guangyao, who gave him the courtesy name Jin Xiumin. In honor and recognition of their sect, he was bestowed the Jin sect name. The bond between Lanling Jin and Mugunghwa Valley sects was a solid one, and Minseok could never really doubt the silly Yixing.

Minseok offered an easy smile, “It’s nothing with Xing Chen. Our relationship has come a very long way in the time period we’ve spent together. I’ve misplaced Bom, unfortunately, and I’ve just been feeling under the weather. I’ll be fine soon.”

Yixing’s face sank even further with Minseok’s response. “Young Master Xiumin… You’ve also been emitting a smell.. When was the last time you bathed?”

Minseok blinked a few times.

He smelled? Is that what Yixing just told him?

Furrowing his brows, Minseok slowly raised his arm and sniffed under the layers of robes. Low and behold, there was a smell that made his nose scrunch and turn away. It was very faint, but he could smell it nonetheless. Without much circulating spiritual energy, his body worked like a mortal’s, which meant it wasn’t as well preserved as a cultivator’s. His natural body odor was coming through much sooner than it should have.

Yixing’s voice went even lower as he drew closer to Minseok. “The moment we stepped on this land, we noticed how off the place was. We feel something isn’t right in the air, like the feng shui is out of balance in every village or town you walk in. We see that there is more at work here than normal, Young Master Xiumin.”

Minseok listened intently. He knew that they weren’t dumb people. They could figure that much out on their own. Without taking care of whatever disturbance was out there, it was only natural that they couldn’t hide anything from the Lanling Jin Sect.

“If something’s wrong, we can help,” Yixing seemed to almost plead.

Minseok gazed out into the room, watching as the Lanling Jin cultivators all gathered on the ground around tables and ordered dishes of food and jugs of alcohol. Very few of them were paying attention to them. Yifan seemed to be the only one eyeing them from where he sat.

“…I don’t know what’s happening. Honest. But watch yourself. It’s not safe, especially around me—” Mid-sentence, another hand grabbed Minseok’s wrist, pulled him out from their little spot by the stairs, and drew him around and up them.

“I hate to be so rude, but it has been a trying day for Minseok. He has gotten little rest as of late and could use an early turn in.” Jongdae gave that overly polite smile as he strode up the stairs with Minseok in tow.

“What about dinner..?” Yixing called after them.

“I’ve ordered food to be delivered to our room. Your rooms are already taken care of, please enjoy yourselves tonight. A courtesy of the Jinju Peony Sect.” He bowed his head and disappeared with Minseok at the landing.

“Hey!” Yixing called out. He felt uneasy but there was no malicious intent coming from Jongdae, so he figured it was fine.

“He deserves to know,” Minseok said in a low voice, rather upset that Jongdae had dragged him to their room.

“And you need rest,” Jongdae replied listlessly as he walked further into the room and lit the heater.

“You don’t trust them.” Minseok watched his every move carefully.

Jongdae said nothing and simply pulled out white under-robes for Minseok to change into.

“Will you trust me?” Minseok brought his voice down to a near whisper.

Jongdae froze as he placed the robes on the table in the middle of the room for him. Their eyes locked, Minseok’s gaze firm while Jongdae’s seemed more… wary.

“I will,” Jongdae finally said after some thought.

Minseok, without warning, whipped out his sword and charged for Jongdae. He grabbed Jongdae’s shoulder and held the point of his sword to his neck. They were all moves Jongdae could easily deflect, but he let Minseok pin him to the wall.

“Do _you_ trust me?” Minseok whispered.

Jongdae’s breath quivered as he gazed into Minseok’s fierce eyes. Not a shred of fear laced his expression.

“I do.”

It took a moment before Minseok put down his sword. They stayed there, just looking at one another, for several more moments before Minseok finally spoke.

“Will you at least trust me to trust them?”

Jongdae took yet another moment before saying, “I… I will trust you.. But.. it’ll be our fault if something happens to them.”

Minseok let go and stayed silent.

“You would take that responsibility?” Jongdae pressed.

“It would be my fault in the first place. I must take responsibility.”

Minseok looked over to Jongdae to see why he was still in the same spot, and on that perfectly porcelain face was an expression so complicated. The tips of his cheeks were rosy.

Without looking up at Minseok, Jongdae spoke softly. “I wish you wouldn’t.. for once in your life, stand for what you believe in.”

Minseok raised a brow at this. Seeing Jongdae like that made his stomach constrict, yet his heart thumped. His breath faltered seeing such a complicated expression on his face and again the unbidden thought went through his head: _I wonder what kinds of other faces he can make._

“To follow what I think for this long, then to stop suddenly… I couldn’t live with myself like that.” All of a sudden, Minseok was standing before Jongdae against the wall again. He had no idea what even prompted his feet to take him over.

“If I live through any of this, I will hold to my word and take responsibility for all.”

Jongdae finally looked up at Minseok and saw the determination in his eyes. But Jongdae just seemed more afraid of something than reassured. It confused Minseok as to why he was making such conflicted expressions. He wanted to reach out his hand and smooth out those lines creasing his face. But before he could take those thoughts back, his body was thrown off balance as a weight smashed against his front. It was warm and comforting on his chest, holding him close.

Jongdae muttered in a messy voice, “You’ll live, you’ll live,” over and over, running his face into Minseok’s chest. It really seemed as if he was trying to convince himself of the fact rather than Minseok. “You promised you would.”

Minseok’s heart rammed against his ribcage, his mind going blank and cheeks burning so brightly. His arms went up, not knowing where to put them or what to do in the slightest. Before he could decide to rest them on Jongdae’s back or stroke his hair with tender fingers, there was a rap at their door.

“Young Masters? We have brought a bath for your room. The water has been drawn and will be filled by the servants.” The sweet voice of the innkeeper rang from the other side.

Minseok was taken out of his stupor and pushed Jongdae off of him. He cleared his throat and calmed his heart before heading over to the door to let the workers in. He felt a little bad about pushing him away like that, but there were many emotions going through his body that he could barely comprehend where he should be appointing those emotions.

After a couple of minutes the servants had brought in pitchers of hot water and filled their bathtub.

“You bathe first. I’ll wait outside.” Jongdae placed the bathing oils and soaps on a small table beside the tub and left a cloth for him to dry.

“Did you order a bath because I smell..?” Minseok asked with a dark face.

Jongdae was taken aback by the accusation and blinked for a moment. “You… don’t smell to me?”

Minseok’s face was still dark, not believing him one bit.

“Is this because of what Zhang Yixing said?” Jongdae pressed.

Minseok looked at the water with mild embarrassment.

“I like the way you smell.”

Minseok brought his gaze right back up to Jongdae, but the man was already turned around and heading out the door. “I just thought it would be nice to rest and be clean…” He paused before the door. “I’ll be waiting just on the other side of this door. If something happens, I should hear it.” Without another word, he slipped out the door and closed it behind himself.

Minseok pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. A string of curse words ran around his mind while his heart just thumped against his chest, madly trying to get out. He wiped his hands down his face and let them rest on his burning cheeks.

“I must be out of my mind,” Minseok muttered and shook his head. Why should just a simple sentence like that make him feel so intensely? Why? Why?!

Trying to bury the thoughts down, he ripped his clothes off, let loose his hair and settled into the tub of hot steaming water. The room was a bit cool—the heater Jongdae started still hadn’t warmed the room quite yet—so the water was greatly welcomed. He sat in the tub and spaced out the longer he sat there, thinking of everything and yet finding his thoughts to go blank at the same time. There was just too much to think about that he really had no energy to do so, especially now that his body started to feel relaxed in the tub. But all these convoluted thoughts that were making no sense urged him to quickly get out of the tub after washing himself down.

Dressed in the white undergarment robes and still drying his hair with a cloth, Minseok opened the door to their room and watched as a talisman fell to the ground. He picked it up and noticed that the writing was for a concealment spell.

“Are you finished?” Jongdae’s voice came from just beside him. He had really waited there the entire time.

“Yes, I’m all set…” Minseok eyed him, then looked back to the talisman in his hand. “Did you do this?”

“Yes. Just in case something were to happen. If the seal broke then I would know immediately.”

Minseok rolled his eyes and handed the talisman back to Jongdae. “Normally I would berate you, but I get the sentiment. Thank you.”

“I will inform the servants they can take the bath away. I will not be gone long.” Jongdae went to bow his head and walk away but Minseok called out for him.

“Wait! Are you… not going to bathe as well?”

Jongdae did not respond and simply stood in the middle of the hall.

“If the water I used seems gross to you, we can just ask them to refill it. But I don’t think they’ll be very happy about boiling more water… Y-You should bathe with this.”

“I don’t think bathing is necessary right now.” Jongdae spoke with a clear and formal tone. Something was odd about him, like he was specifically avoiding Minseok. “It may leave me too vulnerable for a period of time.”

“But you also deserve to relax.” Minseok grabbed onto Jongdae’s sleeve and tugged it lightly. “If you’re that worried, I don’t mind sitting in the room while you bathe.”

For a fleeting moment, Minseok could have sworn he saw the faintest of blushes creep up on Jongdae’s cheeks. It made him blush in turn. He turned away and walked back into the room, trying to play off his current emotions. “I-If you don’t want to do that, that’s fine! I’ll do whatever you prefer!” He sounded almost… angry as he half yelled that.

Not much later, the two were situated very precisely in the room. Jongdae was bathing in the still-warm water while Minseok sat at the table with a candle burning next to his inkwell and brush. He had been jotting down notes, ideas and hypotheses during this time. His body was in a constant mess of pain and confusion. Even if the bath helped relax him a bit, the bitter reminder of his situation was creeping back. Once upon a time before he died, he could store information and remember it all for years down the line. Now, there was only so much he could store until things got muddled up—having such a delicate mortal-like body was inconvenient.

While he wrote away, he hadn’t even noticed when Jongdae got out of the tub and had long since dried himself and dressed in the white undergarment robes.

“Kim Minseok.” Jongdae’s soothing voice beckoned him from his focus.

Minseok’s eyes flitted up and found Jongdae standing beside the tub with a brush in his hands. The collar of his robe wasn’t quite tucked in all the way, so a peek of his collarbone and chest was visible. Minseok stared at the pale, lustrous skin there and quickly looked back up to Jongdae’s eyes.

“May I brush your hair for you?”

Minseok blinked a few times before he could process that.

“There are plenty of rumors about the leader of the Hwarang and his unruly hair, so he hides it in a topknot.” Jongdae’s voice seemed to dance with humor.

“I—!” Minseok went to retaliate but that really was the truth! He hated brushing his own hair and often left it wet and untamed before tying it up.

Without a word, Jongdae just smiled and sat on the bed. He waved his hand, beckoning Minseok to come over and sit in front of him. The way Minseok’s heart rumbled and his stomach churned were all he could focus on in that moment, because he hadn’t even realized he had put his brush down and was already headed for Jongdae.

Though he hadn’t made it far before he stopped mid-step. He brought his right hand to his nose and felt a hot liquid gush down from both nostrils. “What—” Before he knew it he had buckled to his knees and an insatiable urge to cough came upon him. He coughed and coughed until blood spat onto the ground before him.

Jongdae had found himself by his side almost as soon as he watched the blood drip down his nose. He helped him off the ground and hustled them to the bed, where they sat side by side and Jongdae held firmly onto his arm.

Almost immediately, Minseok could feel the warmth of Jongdae’s spiritual energy surge into his arm and throughout his body. They hadn’t done Jongdae’s daily dose of spiritual energy since yesterday, so it was safe to say that Minseok’s body was reacting to the lack of spiritual energy trying to flow about.

While holding onto Minseok’s wrist, Jongdae leaned over to the nightstand by the bed and fumbled around for a handkerchief. The few items that decorated it had tumbled over with his messy movements, but he had at least grabbed the correct thing. Minseok took it with leisure and pressed it to his nose. His clean white robes were stained with streaks of blood now, and all he could smell and taste was the thick iron aroma of that crimson substance.

They stayed there for a while, long enough for Minseok to feel the weight of exhaustion on his body and his head starting to loll. His nose had stopped bleeding, so his hand fell limp at his side and he looked up at Jongdae. The man’s face looked as if he had broke out in a cold sweat, like someone had slammed a door on his toe but he was masking the pain.

“Stop making that face,” Minseok said in a tone he thought cold, but really it was as if he were drunk.

“I am not making a face.” Jongdae’s eyes were closed, but when he heard Minseok’s voice he flinched.

“Yes, you are, it’s one that makes you look worried for me… Don’t do that.” Minseok’s words seemed to slur.

“But I _am_ worried.”

Minseok lowered his voice and whispered, “I don’t want you to be.”

His mind was going in and out, it was hard to concentrate on one thing or have a coherent thought. What was he even saying anymore?

“Whether I am worried about you or not is not up to you,” Jongdae said quite frankly.

But Minseok was having none of it and he frowned. “You’re much too beautiful to be worrying about me… Just.. Go home, go sit and look pretty somewhere.”

Jongdae’s eyes shot open and he looked furious, his face seemed like it would explode red with anger. Minseok, on the other hand, had his body leaning forward, like he was going to lose consciousness at any moment. He hadn’t even realized that his words sounded rude, like he was making Jongdae to be merely decorative. But what he actually meant was true in his heart. Jongdae had always been a very beautiful being to him, since the first moment he ever laid eyes on him. Despite all their fighting and the malice between the two, he could never deny how beautiful he truly was. He could sit and brood over it day and night, convincing himself that he didn’t find him so ethereal—though deep in his heart, he knew that was not the case..

Jongdae was disturbed by this and the odd placid expression on his face, but he was quick to hold Minseok up and keep him steady.

Out of the blue, Minseok began to chuckle to himself, but when Jongdae looked back over, his face was quiet and void of life. “This must be like a qi deviation.. But in reverse since there’s hardly any spiritual energy to flow around..” Minseok shifted and plugged his nose back up, since the blood began to poor again. “I wonder what it’d be like if we just let it run its course, if you didn’t come in and help straighten my meridians out.”

Jongdae’s brows furrowed so tightly they looked as if they would snap. “Are you in pain?” His grip on Minseok’s arm unconsciously tightened.

With a wince, Minseok said, “When am I not in pain?” He shifted his hand and fixed the way Jongdae was holding it, making it so that their fingers were interlocked. “If you’re going to squeeze, do it like this. I can bear the pain like this.”

Of course, while Minseok was fixing their hands he relaxed his grip, but now that Minseok had brought light to it he let it even more loose than before. It was as if Minseok’s hand were a precious and thin piece of glass, one that would shatter by the wind blowing by.

The two cultivators sat there, side by side, their shoulders and thighs touching without complication. The warmth spreading through his body and the subsiding pain made Minseok feel ultimately weak again. He hated this, he hated how pathetic he was right now. But no matter how much he wanted to fight it, his body gave in and he slumped over onto Jongdae’s shoulder.

Eyes closed, he said, “I’m so sorry.. Kim Jongdae. You must be so tired and so sick of all of this, too..” He subconsciously tightened his grip in Jongdae’s hand. “You won’t accept it, I know. But I owe you everything. You’re a good man in that sense, but I am stubborn.” His voice was weaker with each sentence as his face turned further and further into Jongdae’s chest. “I will chase you to the ends of the earth, until this debt is repaid.” His voice was near nothing but breath by the end. And with that end he fell asleep against Jongdae’s chest, body gone limp yet his hand stayed secure in Jongdae’s.

Jongdae had long since leaned himself back a bit so that Minseok could comfortably lean against him. With a complicated expression, he brought their intertwined hands to his lips and pressed the back of Minseok’s palm against them.

With a guilt laden voice, he croaked, “Your devotion is not something I deserve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this was a long one


	16. 15

Minseok woke to Jongdae’s calming voice calling him—it was easy and quite soothing to be woken by.

“Kim Minseok.” The words were like the petals of a flower swaying in a spring breeze, both soft and beautiful.

As Minseok came to, he could have sworn he felt his hair slowly move behind his ear, like it was purposeful. The smell of something delicious and fragrant came from somewhere in the room, and his stomach growled with the anticipation of eating it.

“How long have I been asleep?” Minseok sat up and rubbed his face. Not a trace of sticky blood and his robes were as good as new. Again, he had burdened Jongdae with something.

“Not long, a little under an hour. It’s a new record, given your circumstances.” Jongdae smiled from across the room. He had situated himself by the low table where an assortment of food lay ready. “I sent for food when we first got the room, but their kitchens are a little backed up with the sudden influx of us.”

Minseok slowly made his way over to the table, groggy, but managing. Jongdae watched him with a careful eye, of course. It was mostly easily-digested food: a hearty soup with lots of vegetables, and side dishes full of steamed vegetables.

Of course, Minseok would like to say that he did not spend his time going back and forth with Jongdae sharing food, making sure the other had more sustenance. But honestly, the dishes holding food all ended up empty within just a few minutes of eating because they were busy giving one another the most vegetables.

Blocking Jongdae’s chopsticks full of lotus root, Minseok said, “Stop. Take it for yourself.”

“You need it.” Jongdae pressed his hand and tried to bulldoze through Minseok’s hand.

“You look like you could use it too.” Minseok pushed back.

“It’s imperative that you eat it.” Jongdae pulled the vegetable back and went around Minseok’s block.

Minseok was quick to take the vegetable and turned it right back around. “You’ve given me enough of the food tonight. You _look_ tired, I _know_ you’re tired. Just take it. It’s one piece of lotus root.”

Jongdae paused for a moment, he looked between Minseok and the vegetable, contemplating intently what to do. Eventually, he took the lotus root. And with a solemn face and a small voice, he bid, “Thank you.” 

Halfway through finishing their dinner, Minseok settled his chopsticks down and stared at the dish of half-eaten rice, soup and vegetables. “You know, after living in the woods with little food for this long… I’m not quite so hungry for this food.” He smiled bitterly. “Is that… wrong?”

Jongdae frowned. “It’s not wrong. But even if you don’t feel like eating, will you try to eat more?”

“I know, I know. I need the nutrients.” He waved Jongdae off and picked his chopsticks back up.

“…When your old master and I went to go look in the archives, he told me that he had never seen you look like that before.” Jongdae seemed apprehensive, like he didn’t want to or didn’t know if he should bring this up.

“..What else did he say while I was asleep?” Minseok asked carefully.

“He asked if I would tell him the true story, but I did not… And then he asked me to look after you in his stead. He figured you’re a part of things that were beyond his time. He wasn’t sure of how much use he’d be to you.”

Minseok muttered, “I wouldn’t allow him to help even if he insisted.” With a heavy sigh he glanced at Jongdae. “If he said anything weird after that, I’ll apologize in his stead. But I figure now is an appropriate time to bring this up. Did you find anything on that cultivator, Lu Han?”

Jongdae’s face fell, not too deeply but it was enough to know his finds were not successful. “I did not find anything on someone named Lu Han. But..”

Minseok’s interest piqued again.

“I was able to quickly skim something and read the name Lu Lushan… It was a passage that talked about him slaying something with a wolf bear by his side.”

“Wolf bear?” Minseok raised a brow. Why did that sound so familiar?

 _Bei Xiong!_ Minseok’s face lit up. “You didn’t happen to take the passage with you, did you?!”

“I did,” Jongdae nodded and went to pull out the scroll from within his sleeves.

“Not yet! We can read it after we eat.” Minseok sighed out with a breath of relief. “This is good. I think this might be a step closer to what I’m looking for to understand this situation. The Lanling Jin members downstairs might even be able to tell us a few things.”

Jongdae’s face took another plummet, and he frowned quite unabashedly.

“I know you don’t trust them, but they may know something. It’s more of their history that we probably don’t have any knowledge of.”

Jongdae did not speak against it nor for it. He remained silent, but the reluctance was very evident on his face.

“I know. You’re right, we should ask them. I trust you.” Jongdae’s eyes fluttered up at Minseok and he felt his heart skip a beat. Those light gray eyes shimmering in the candle light of the room. Before Minseok could calm himself down at all, Jongdae’s head turned toward the door, as if he had just heard something unsettling.

A knock then sounded at their door.

“Young Masters, have you gone to bed already?” It was Yixing’s gentle voice that leaked in.

“We’re awake. We’re in the midst of eating,” Minseok answered as he went to stand and let him in, but Jongdae stopped him and took over.

“I wanted to thank you for the meal and for housing us tonight.” Yixing beamed as he walked inside the room. “But to be quite honest, my reasons for coming here are utterly selfish.” Yixing stopped before their table and stood with his back straight and hands behind his back. He stuck up his nose and said, “I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

A light rouge of pink dusted Yixing’s cheeks, as if he was embarrassed for barging in on these two cultivators after they had gone to rest for the night. But that was just it, Yixing sucked in all the courage he could to make sure Minseok was doing all right, despite possibly disturbing them if they were sleeping.

Minseok laughed lightly. “I’m doing better now. Thank you for coming.”

Jongdae had long since sat back down and poured Yixing a cup of tea.

Yixing sat between them around the round table and assessed their food. “This is a very nutrition filled and easily-digested meal.” A frown flashed on his lips for a moment before turning back to a smile. “I’m sure you’ll be better in no time.”

“I hope so. Would you care for some?” Minseok offered over some of the vegetables in his bowl. As he took one out to present to Yixing, another pair of chopsticks intercepted him.

“Oh, thank you—” Yixing tried to respond but the vegetable Minseok was handing him had been snatched away.

Jongdae chewed with grace, acting as if he hadn’t just taken the piece of food in the span of a second.

Yixing was baffled and looked between the two, while Minseok raised a brow and tried to hand over another piece of potato. Jongdae went to snatch it again but he dove around and lifted his chopsticks so that they wouldn’t clash. Instead, Jongdae leaned in and ate the vegetable clean off Minseok’s chopsticks before he could place it on an empty bowl in front of Yixing.

“What is your problem?!” Minseok snapped, breaking the pair of wood chopsticks in his hand in half.

“I just thought you were right. I could use a few more things to give me energy.”

Yixing’s mouth was slightly agape at the interaction, but when Minseok’s chopsticks snapped he almost panicked and went into defense mode. Having Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae not blowing the building to bits was a feat in itself. But having them eat off of each other’s chopsticks was some kind of miracle one never thought possible.

“Th-Thank you.. but I’ve already eaten.” Yixing finally managed in a small voice. He took the cup of tea and sipped it, just to avoid eye contact and to clear those odd thoughts. “I wanted to thank Xing Chen for his hospitality, as well. We are very honored to have such accommodations despite the situation. It’s not nearly as warm in here as it is in our rooms on the ground,. I don’t mind asking some people to switch with you two if you like?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Jongdae smiled lightly and shook his head. “You are the guests here, your situation is unfortunate enough.”

“Indeed! That’s another thing I wanted to ask. Have the two of you noticed any strange demonic movement lately? Anything off with corpses or ghosts in the area?”

Jongdae glanced at Minseok as he sipped his tea, intending to leave this explanation to him.

“In this area, there were reports of demonic activity harassing villages. Xing Chen and I have been here for just a few days now, and we haven’t experienced anything out of the ordinary until we met you.”

Yixing sighed almost as if he were relieved.

“But..” Minseok started again. “There’s something you should know.”

Yixing stiffened.

“There have been things going on here that are quite… ominous. Xing Chen and I were asked to figure out whatever was going on before you came but… We’ve been greatly sidetracked.” Minseok settled his chopsticks down, finding his appetite no longer with him as he recalled the events in the last month. “Corpses and ghosts have been reported missing from most graveyards, especially in this southern area. Reports crept up the map and closer to the main sects. Smaller villages were reported to have large massacres by the hands of demons. The problem is that the ghosts have gone missing into thin air. No inquiry can summon a soul or response. The same with the demons. All traces up and vanish into thin air.”

Yixing’s usually placid face was disturbed. “I’m assuming that you’ve come across something for the two of you to end up in this situation. You look awful,” he blurted unabashedly.

Minseok wasn’t sure if he should laugh it off or punch him straight in the face. “Yes. I look quite… dilapidated.”

“Dilapidated?! You look more like a house that’s burned down and was abandoned for a hundred years!”

Minseok’s mouth twitched, Jongdae on the other hand snapped his chopsticks in half. A piece flew off and hit Yixing square in the cheek.

“Yes.” Minseok gritted through his teeth. “I look like a walking corpse.”

“And your spiritual energy—”

 _“Yes!”_ Minseok fumed. “I did a bad job of hiding my current wellbeing from you. Yes. I am practically dead. In fact, I was dead for three weeks straight and still would be if not for this guy here!” Minseok pointed an accusing finger at Jongdae across the table from him. “Just a sliver of my soul resides in my body right now. Without Kim Jongdae using copious amounts of his spiritual energy to keep me attached to the mortal realm and to keep my meridians in check, I would be gone and in more trouble than I am now. And before you say another thing, before I died I apparently once knew the reason why everything was happening. Now I’m being hunted because everyone discovered that I’m alive and they think I still know what’s going on. So, our meeting was both a blessing and a misfortune. And I hope that whatever is after me does not involve you.”

Minseok made sure to get it out all in one breath before Yixing went on some sort of rant before hearing all the details. “And I was sworn to keep this secret because it would be detrimental to our country if you took away our cultivation. War is inevitable and we do our best to suppress demonic activity, but we can’t help it when things keep coming up and we constantly have to work to make sure nothing gets out of hand. I just hope that you can give us some time to figure this out and allow us to keep following the cultivation path.”

Yixing was at a complete loss for words.

“And I assume you haven’t told us all the details to feign nonchalance?” Another deeper voice came from the doorway.

Everyone turned and found Yifan standing at the entryway, his bo staff in hand. His face was colder than usual, so he must have been listening for a while. He walked in without being invited, closed the door behind himself, and sat by the table.

“The fact that you want to keep this a secret is enough cause for us to lock up all cultivation practices here.”

Minseok felt quite the level of shame. Wu Yifan had that effect on people.

“We deserve a chance to figure this out. Just like your country experiences complications, but you all figure it out. We deserve at least that chance.” Jongdae spoke up this time.

Minseok glanced across the table at him with a small smile of pride on his lips. Yifan’s face showed no sign of change.

“I think…” Yixing finally spoke out. “I think depending on the outcome, we will decide what fate is in store,” he said all in a breath.

Both Minseok and Jongdae looked at Yixing, fully surprised that he would respond like that.

“I agree with Xing Chen,” Yifan suddenly announced. Everyone at the table froze when they looked at him. “This tradition of baby-sitting countries after generously teaching them thousands of years ago is getting old. They’ve established their own sects, developed their own styles of cultivation for hundreds of years. They are a thriving country of their own. We should not have to meddle in their affairs any longer.”

“But!!” Yixing’s face went red with both embarrassment and frustration.

 _“’But,’_ I am right. Traditions are not always meant to be kept. Change is inevitable.”

Yixing stood up, glaring daggers down at Yifan’s unchanging face.

“This is tradition, it’s what we’ve always done! How can you just say that?! Order is kept this way!”

“It’s the only kind of order _you_ can maintain because you cannot control that muddled mess that is your brain.”

Both Minseok and Jongdae’s mouth dropped at that. Yifan was unduly savage right now.

Yixing’s eyes brimmed with angry tears, his face red and contorted with all his frustrations. Instead of blowing up or retorting, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Yifan sighed and closed his eyes.

Minseok spoke carefully, “I-I didn’t know you felt that way.”

Yifan sighed out again. “I have thought this for a while now. It’s a power complex for the sects back home, the more they can control or have power over, the stronger they feel. I do not agree with this thinking. But Zhang Yixing’s true heart lies with the fact he doesn’t want to stop traveling to different countries. He’s a very open spirit and loves being able to experience all these different cultures and languages. What he doesn’t understand is that he doesn’t have to have this job just to experience the world. I would gladly travel with him around the world without this job.”

Minseok and Jongdae had never seen Yifan look so.. exhausted, mentally.

“But that’s not why I’m here. These are our own personal problems. I respect your will to keep information from us, but I believe we are involved now, so we have a right to know about it. I will respect your choice. If there’s anything we can do to help, please. Let us know.”

“Actually…” Minseok trailed off as he glanced at Jongdae for quick approval. “Have you heard of a cultivator by the name Lu Lushan?”

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

It was a good twenty minutes before Yifan got up to bid Minseok and Jongdae goodbye. He figured Yixing had blown off enough steam to be receptive when he chased after him to console him.

After he left, both Jongdae and Minseok sat there thinking to themselves about the information they had gathered.

Lu Lushan was the courtesy name of an infamous cultivator. He was also known as the Yanling DaoRen, a disciple that once hailed from the mysterious mountain of the cultivator BaoShan SanRen. Yanling DaoRen was the first ever to leave her mountain. He was respected by all and known for his outstanding mastery and command over his skills. However, his personality took a turn for the worse and he massacred without second’s thought. Innocent lives were not spared. In the end, his life was taken by a thousand swords. It was known as the first of three tragic deaths of the only three disciples who ever left BaoShan SanRen’s mountain. But that was all anyone knew of Yanling DaoRen. Everything else was a mystery as to why he defected the way he did.

This information was both useful and useless to Minseok. Was Lu Han this mysterious Yanling DaoRen? Or was he just another cultivator who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Minseok looked over at Jongdae. “I think we should read that passage.”

Jongdae nodded and got to his feet with ease. He lit a candle by the writing desk on the other side of the room and asked for a few servers to clear the room of their dishes. Minseok made his way over to the table with a bit of a struggle. His limbs still felt achy and like jelly, so getting up and down from the floor was a feat in itself. The table was furthest from the small heater in the room, leaving him feeling the draft of the windows a bit too much.

It was as if Jongdae could read every little bit of body language he gave off, because a moment later he walked over with the blanket from the bed, draping it over Minseok’s shoulders before sitting down beside him. Minseok stayed frozen for a moment before he could allow his body to move and fix the blanket around his shoulders. The draft no longer numbed his toes, but that was due to the rapid circulation of his blood. His heart was ramming around his chest once more, beating like the drums of the Mugunghwa Flower Festival. This time, though, he could tell it was his own heart. And as his heart thumped, he couldn’t help the odd thoughts that flowed in, thoughts wanting him to sit just a tad closer to Jongdae, thoughts wanting to lean over and rest his head against his shoulder. In some way, each of his thoughts wanted him to get closer. They made Minseok’s cheeks burn bright and he wanted to strangle himself for thinking such things.

“Are you okay?” 

Jongdae’s sweet yet worried voice took Minseok away from his racing thoughts. He immediately felt a wave of calm come over him.

“H-Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” Minseok raised a brow.

“Your face is unusually red. I just want to make sure you aren’t sick or anything. You have to tell me the moment something doesn’t feel right, okay?” Jongdae had raised a hand to press against Minseok’s forehead. Much to Minseok’s surprise, Jongdae’s fingers were like ice, stinging cold to the touch.

“Mm.” Minseok aimlessly responded as he watched Jongdae take his hand away and tuck his lose hair behind his ear. He then proceeded to take the scroll back out and Minseok just couldn’t take his eyes off of him. His glistening pale skin seemed so fragile and delicate. Just underneath the cusp of Jongdae’s sleeves, Minseok could see the light tracks of gooseflesh.

Jongdae was impervious to Minseok’s blatant stares and kept on spreading the paper over the table for the both of them to read.

Gritting his teeth, Minseok fought with the idea of sharing his blanket. Was it too bold? Would it be uncomfortable? Why did he even have the urge to do it? Can’t Jongdae just get another blanket? All these thoughts and so much more battled in his head in the seconds that Jongdae took to settle the paper. By the end of it, Minseok groaned quite loudly and raised his arm to drape half the blanket over Jongdae.

Jongdae needed a moment to process what had just happened before he looked at the blanket hanging off his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I don’t need—”

“Just be quiet and sit closer to me.” Minseok stared at the table, cheeks ablaze and mouth hiding a pout. He wasn’t even reading the paper, just focusing really hard on not looking at Jongdae.

With a light chuckle, Jongdae took the blanket and wrapped himself as he inched closer to Minseok. Both sat shoulder to shoulder, warm within the recess of the blanket. Minseok tried, he really did, to read what was on the paper, but it took him a good while before he could convince himself to concentrate.

The content of the scroll, however, was something unexpected. It was in dire need of a rewriting, as the page was heavily yellowed, and the corners were crimped and weathering away. The text mostly had to do with a group of cultivators from the Central Plains at least five hundred years ago. It was an account of an event that involved a demon who went around massacring villages and hoarding their dead bodies for food. This was no normal demon that could be taken down by just a few strong cultivators, it was a feat that called upon many great ones of the era.

There were at least twenty names mentioned, none of which were Lu Lushan. That name wasn’t mentioned until closer to the end, when the group of banned cultivators could not hold up against the demon. The passage described him as a breath of fresh air, bright and handsome and confident in each step. He had heard of the ruckus ensuing with the cultivators, so he stepped in to offer his help. No one believed he could do much if they were unable to, even if he had a name amongst the cultivation world at the time, everyone underestimated him. Despite the backlash, he took up arms alongside his spiritual animal friend, Bei Xiong, and they defeated the demon within two days.

This was undoubtedly Lu Han. Unless there was another person waltzing around with Bei Xiong at the time, there was no way this wasn’t him. He had remembered hearing the very intimate conversation Lu Han and Bei Xiong had when the met up with him—not to mention Jung Kai had called him a cultivator. It was highly unlikely this wasn’t Lu Han.

Even though this passage had little information on who Lu Han was, he was still able to draw a few conclusions.

“Was this helpful at all?” Jongdae spoke with a clear yet low voice right by his ear.

Minseok’s body immediately felt heat rise up his spine and he straightened himself out. “U-uh.. N-Not as much as I had hoped. But it’s still something nonetheless. He was a cultivator before all this happened. I’m wondering if he crossed the wrong path with demons in the past and it caused him to get stuck in that dream-like world… But it doesn’t make sense.. Lu Han was.. He was a very kind person, he didn’t seem like the savage and beastly type to kill without reason before he met his end. The fact alone that he did not die is enough to raise alarm that these stories may not be entirely the truth… But it doesn’t matter what any of this actually means. He is in trouble. And he asked for my help and I will do what I can to get him out.”

A deep sigh left Jongdae’s lips. Minseok looked over to find him pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.

“Am I giving you a headache?” Minseok half-joked.

Jongdae stifled a blurted laugh. “If you knew how much of a headache you’ve been this entire time, would you act differently?” He turned his head slightly and gazed at Minseok with an almost flirtatious glance. “I almost miss your ‘act now, think later’ mentality.”

“No, no, I always think before I act. I just always deem the outcome in my favor and therefore I attack quickly.” Minseok sat up straight, defending his explosive behavior. But then a thought flashed through his mind, one that made him slouch and to become rather meek. “Actually.. Not with you. Whenever I would try and fight you, I would lose all ability to think..” he mumbled off to the side.

Jongdae did not respond, and Minseok was much too afraid to see what kind of face he was making. Not even a moment later, he felt Jongdae shuffling around and leaving the warmth of the blanket. He went to search the other end of the room for his robes and returned with a white jade comb in his slender fingers.

“May I brush your hair?” Jongdae asked with that usual placid look on his face, a light smile grazing the tips of his lips. His voice was airy and delicate, the kind of perfect face and voice he would put on for shows or interacting with most people. It had been a while since Jongdae had made this kind of fake face towards him.

It threw Minseok off guard and he muttered a yes before he could think about his answer. He was so busy wondering why Jongdae built his walls back up. What things was he hiding? But most importantly, why did such a small, simple gesture bother Minseok so much?

What took him out of his trance was the feeling of icy fingertips grazing his neck as they pulled his hair to his back. A shiver immediately ran down his arms, through his stomach and down his legs. It was electrifying all around. He couldn’t remember the last time someone else did his hair. Maybe it was Master Shim when he was young? Or Sect Leader Jung teaching him how to put his hair in a topknot. That was over ten years ago at least, so this feeling of someone running their fingers through his hair and brushing away the tangles was like heaven-sent bliss.

Each time the teeth of the comb rolled down his scalp, Minseok’s eyes would flutter shut at the euphoric sensation. It made him feel sleepy and terrifyingly good at the same time. And after just a few minutes of Jongdae not leaving a single strand unturned of the silken hair, Minseok’s head once again began to loll to the side with sleep.

“Kim Minseok,” Jongdae whispered by his ear.

“Mm,” he responded groggily.

“It’s late. Let’s get you to bed.” Jongdae’s voice almost felt like the comb grazing his head, sending more waves of euphoric shivers through his body.

“Mmm.” Minseok nodded and he tried to stand on his own two feet, but the blanket had tangled its way between his toes and his muscles were still weak.

Jongdae was there to catch him with no problem. He supported the groggy man to the bed and placed him down on the pillow. He disappeared for a moment to retrieve the blanket on the floor, but quickly returned to drape it over Minseok.

“Where are you going?” Minseok asked once Jongdae had tucked him in and started to walk away.

“I’m going to sleep on the futon I asked for earlier.” Jongdae still used that overly-nice tone.

This made Minseok upset again, so he reached out his hand and grabbed the tail end of Jongdae’s robe before he could slip away.

“Why are you unhappy?”

Jongdae froze and did not respond for a good while.

Minseok, not wanting to wait any longer, pulled Jongdae down and into the bed with him. “There is a bed here, we can share it.”

“Kim Minseok—!” Jongdae’s voice rose with a panicked anger.

“Kim Jongdae!” Minseok used the same tone back to him. “It’s not like we haven’t slept side by side in the forest! You’ve even slept on my lap. Just stay here and get a comfortable rest.”

Jongdae was silent, his body still awkwardly flopped on top of Minseok’s legs.

“…You better not regret this in the morning..” Jongdae muttered as he arranged himself beside Minseok, lifting the blanket to comfortably slide in.

“I’m just tired, not drunk,” Minseok responded with his eyes closed and back facing Jongdae.

“Being tired and drunk can be almost equated as the same thing. Not in the right state of mind,” Jongdae quipped back.

Minseok quickly turned over to face him and asked with a smile, “Do you feel better now?”

Jongdae was taken aback and stared at Minseok with a ghastly look on his face.

“A-A little.”

“Good.” Minseok closed his eyes again and stayed in that spot, faced toward Jongdae. “You don’t have to tell me what’s bothering you, but if you want comfort or support I can do that instead.”

There was a silence growing over the two as they lay there, but what Minseok did not know was that in that silence, Jongdae could not take his eyes off of him.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

It was like thunder and cliff diving, both terrifying and exciting. The way he felt hot all over his body like in a hot spring but less stifled. The way his breath panted out of his mouth in trembling gasps. It felt _so_ good down there.

Amidst the trees and the bright moon above his head, he felt the faint gust of wind carrying over and the sound of leaves almost drowning out the noises in front of him. Minseok lowered his gaze, feeling so on the edge of bursting out that he had to hold in his breath. There by his groin was a head full of luscious black hair, bobbing up and down and encasing him in glorious wet warmth.

If the braided hair at the sides wasn’t enough of a giveaway as to who this was, then the green and white robes were even more of an indication.

But that was odd, this was clearly a dream.

Kim Jongdae shouldn’t be here.

Kim Jongdae _shouldn’t_ be kissing him in such a lewd manner.

“Why…?” Minseok could barely manage out before Jongdae let him go and raised his head. His lips were glistening and bright red, his eyes were sparkling in the reflections of the moonlight—hazy. A sensual creature of the night with that gaze in his eyes. This gaze frightened Minseok and he woke from the dream almost immediately. But as he came to, he noticed how warm his body was and how very tender his nether regions were. Wrapped in his arms was another body, and upon that realization, Misneok shot his eyes open.

He had been hugging Jongdae once again, but this time their bodies were pressed against one another—Jongdae’s rear quite taut against his groin.

Minseok flung himself backwards, the blanket flying awry. He pushed himself back so hard, he fell off the bed with a loud thud.

As Minseok sucked in a breath of air at the pain, Jongdae began to stir as well.

“Hm..?” Jongdae groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eye awake. He looked over his shoulder and found Minseok sprawled on the floor.

“Kim Minseok? Why are you.. Why are you on the floor?”

Minseok froze in panicked fear. He had half a mind to pull his robe down and hide his very evident arousal but then that would only draw more unnecessary attention. So he sat up quickly and hoped the movement wouldn’t draw attention to anything.

“O-Oh! Uhhh! I-I just got caught in the blanket and fell when I got up.” He stood right to his feet. “I-I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be back.”

Minseok turned on the balls of his feet and headed for the door.

“Why don’t you just use the chamber pot in the corner of the room? The one outside is too far.”

“N-No! It’s okay, I want a fresh breath of morning air anyways! Maybe it’ll help my blood flow!” Minseok’s voice went up and down as he tried to hide how nervous he was.

“Just stay—”

“It’s fine!” Minseok nearly yelled over Jongdae’s voice and he closed the door tight before standing there and holding his red face.

With a whispered voice he cursed.

Inside the room, Jongdae sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, cheeks red and hand hiding away the bottom half of his face.

What an embarrassing pair these two were.

Once safely in the bathroom, Minseok took care of his problem with the images of Jongdae in his head. It was both one of the best and oddest experiences he had ever been in while doing it. The leading thought in his head, though, was: could Kim Jongdae actually make a face like that?

With a heavy sigh, Minseok gathered himself and took a stroll through the inn complex. The sun was barely above the horizon, but the birds were lively and out for their morning songs. It really was nice to breathe in that fresh, crisp morning air. Having relieved himself in a different way this time, he felt lighter, maybe a bit more positive even though his legs were still shaky.

It really was getting harder and harder to use his body. Every time he slipped and left his body and Jongdae brought him back, another piece of him was whisked away. Jongdae was weaker, so he had a more difficult time holding on as well. It was only a matter of time before Minseok truly slipped under.

Minseok opened and closed his right hand, taking inventory of how rough it was for his tendons to curl and clench a fist. Pulling a bow taut was no easy task either. A wave of melancholy washed over him despite the positivity he had been feeling.

A yawn came from across the way. Minseok looked up and recognized that one of the Lanling Jin cultivators had woken up.

“Oh, Young Master Jin Xiumin,” he saluted. “You look better this morning. Did you get enough rest?” His eyes were red with yawning tears and his nose was pink from the nippy air.

Minseok nodded. “I did. Thank you for being courteous and allowing me to rest early last night.”

The cultivator waved him off. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re grateful enough to be so well accommodated.”

“Where are you headed so early in the morning?” Minseok asked.

“Ah! The cargo that got damaged from those corpses yesterday was pretty out of shape. I brought it to the woodworker in town. They said they would have it ready by today. I thought I’d head into town and check out the place before going over. Would you like to join me?” The cultivator offered such a sweet smile but Minseok could only give him a bitter one back.

“No, that’s all right. I’d only slow you down.”

“Nonsense! It might even help rejuvenate you! Whatever’s… wrong with you, that is.” The cultivator shrugged.

“It’s okay. You enjoy yourself.” Minseok nodded his head and the two traded their salutations.

Minseok sighed to himself and made his way back to the main house of the inn, where not even the maids and kitchen staff had woken up to start preparations. He stood outside the shared room, not daring to enter just yet. He stared in a daze, biting his lip as thoughts wrapped around themselves, one after the other endlessly flooding him. Before he could even decide whether to open the door or not, the door slid open and Jongdae stood before him. Their eyes locked for a moment in mild surprise. but Minseok looked away quickly and his cheeks grow heavy with pink.

In the quick glimpse he got, Jongdae was already dressed in his cultivation robes, hair braided on the sides of his head and pulled back perfectly while two strands cascaded down his shoulders and the rest laid in the back like a river of fine ebony. Not a strand out of place, as usual.

“I thought it might be you,” Jongdae announced as he stepped to the side to let him in. “You were gone for a while, was everything all right?”

“Hmm?” Minseok jolted with the memory of what he’d left to take care of. “Oh, yes, yes, it’s fine, all well and done.” He brushed it off with an air of nonchalance, but it was painfully acted.

As he walked into the room he couldn’t help but notice how tidy everything was. A pot of steeping tea was set on the table where they’d eaten dinner, the linens on the bed were neatly placed back in their original spots, dirty clothes were folded and left in a pile, and his pink and red robes of the Mugunghwa Valley Sect were neatly placed on the bed.

“I figure if we want a capture where we’re prepared, you best stick out like a sore thumb.”

Minseok complied and put on his old robes. The silks and cloth itself felt like home against his brittle skin. The only problem with dressing loudly for all the cultivation world to recognize him was that nothing ended up happening. Minseok, Jongdae and the Lanling Jin Sect members spent three days in that town waiting for their crates to be repaired. Every time someone went to check if they were fixed, something came up and caused another problem. This meant they were stuck in that town until the job got done. It wasn’t until the fourth day that something unusual happened.

Minseok had a dream about Lu Han.

In the dream, Minseok thought that the old cultivator was lying down, the skin around his eyes hollow and dark. His eyes were shut, but in no calm way—they were pained and exhausted. Out of his forehead grew his horns, fusing to the walls of whatever encased his body. Feathers poked out from his hair and looked as if they were growing from his skin and around the cheek bones. The closer Minseok’s mind inspected the situation, the more he saw how Lu Han’s body was encased in a wooden frame, like the bark of a tree trunk. As the realization settled, Minseok’s mind was able to stabilize the positioning and he was suddenly before Lu Han at a new angle. The thin and frail man was encased in the base of a tree trunk, specifically the slanted tree that jutted off the floating island.

A tremor shook the floating island, the tree and its branches rustling loudly with the movement. Minseok’s sight turned around to the forest line that he knew would be there, but what he saw left a gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach. Almost all of the trees were fallen over or nonexistent.

“Help..” Minseok heard Lu Han’s small voice whimper out. It was so weak and faint that he nearly missed it.

But before Minseok could turn around, he had woken up with a jolt. The feeling in his stomach was still potent, strong enough to make him want to puke. For fear of spewing all over Jongdae’s hair (as he was hugging him again in his sleep), he sat at the edge of the bed to calm his mind and heart.

“Is something the matter?” Jongdae's gentle voice trickled into his ears. Even if it was just a moment, that anxious feeling in Minseok’s stomach subsided as he focused on Jongdae.

“No, nothing. Just..” He had half the mind to lie and say he couldn’t sleep or ate something bad. But as he looked over to see Jongdae sitting up, with his dark circles, robe askew, and showing his pale and toned chest, all thoughts of lying went away. He felt it was no longer necessary.

“I just had a dream about Lu Han… I can’t tell if it’s a premonition or not..” He proceeded to tell Jongdae of the dream, to which he gladly and quietly listened. “I’m worried that I’ve spent too much time here… I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel so useless.”

A slight dip in the bed came from behind him and Jongdae’s hand pulled Minseok back down—it was still late in the night.

“You’re not useless. There’s only so much that can be done right now. We have a rough plan of what could happen and what we want to do with it. If all goes well, you’ll be back to help Lu Han in no time. We just have to wait, now.” Jongdae’s voice was sweeter than usual and the gentle smile on his lips was far from the fake one he offered to everyone else in the world. He held onto Minseok’s hands as they faced one another in the small bed.

Minseok felt so warm with just those words and the small touch of their hands. A month ago he would never have dreamed to get this close to Jongdae. Yet here he was, his heart aflutter and cheeks so rosy he wanted to bury himself away.

With the tender moonlight seeping into their room through the crack of the window at their bedside, Minseok was dazzled with the way Jongdae’s eyes twinkled. His lightly-colored eyes were always best in this lighting, reflective of the moon itself. 

“But what if it doesn’t work?” Minseok whispered without breaking their gaze.

“It will.”

Minseok had his doubts. He wasn’t a proper cultivator anymore. There was none of his boisterous attitude to be followed by hard swings of his sword or marked hits of his bow. He was barely a walking human at this point. And with Jongdae severely weakened, what chances did they have to make it out alive? Especially when they still had no idea of what they were up against?

“Kim Jongdae..” Minseok continued in a low voice, his heart hammering against his chest to the point that he wondered if Jongdae could hear. “If none of this turns out how it should.. I want you to know—” A glimmer of light flickered through the ajar window and caught Minseok’s attention. His gaze shifted quickly and his body reacted without fault.

Crashing through the paper and wood window was a blade of steel and fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhh yifan and yixing were not an intended pairing but here we are
> 
> also does anyone remember the story of the yanlin daoren from mdzs??? probably not since he was just mentioned briefly in passing but i seized that moment faster than you can say 'now kiss'


	17. 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence, gore, angst, claustrophobia

Minseok latched onto Jongdae’s shoulders and lurched them from the bed. They tumbled off to the side with a few rolls, dodging the sword with ease. Jongdae was the first to respond and quickly got up to hide Minseok behind him. Arms spread out and body ready for anything to come, Jongdae’s face turned sour and angry.

Flames burst out from the blade, spreading through the room and quickly setting fire to any and all little objects that could. Minseok ran for their robes, knowing full well just their under garments wouldn’t hold up against the fire for long. The fire swirled and raged, whipping out lashes of red hot flames against Cheongal—Jongdae had long held up a seal sign and his spiritual weapon moved at his every beck and whim. The clash of sword and flame produced white hot sparks, both blinding and stinging to the touch.

Minseok ran over with Jongdae’s robes and threw them over his shoulders. Jongdae was able to slip on his top robe, but it was more of a challenge as Minseok helped him into his pants and tied them securely.

“Why haven’t you put your own robes on yet?!” Jongdae shouted over the roaring flames, his cheeks red and scorched with sparks.

“I will!” Minseok yelled curtly back from where he knelt by Jongdae’s waist, still putting on the latter’s belt. But the flames were hot and Minseok was already sweating. His hands slipped with the silken fabric, not to mention an unsettling fear settled in his stomach.

Both Jongdae and Minseok knew who this sword belonged to. It was another unnerving feeling that surged through their bones as they stood up against the tentacle-like flames. Minseok scurried to throw his pink and red robes on. His sword was tied tightly by his waist even though he knew it’d be useless. His bow was secured in his left hand while his right clenched onto an arrow, ready to shoot at any given second.

“We need to get out of here!” Minseok shouted.

“And how do you suppose we do that?!” Jongdae snapped at him.

Minseok readied an arrow and aimed it for the sword that stuck up from the floor. He loosed it in hopes that it would knock the sword off course, but the arrow had little effect and burnt to ashes before it could so much as touch it.

Minseok gritted his teeth, “I knew he had an immense cultivation base, but I didn’t realize it was this great.” While he was distracted by the miss, a flame whip snaked its way over the floor and through to Minseok’s legs. Feeling the new heat signature, Minseok looked down and stomped his foot. The flames receded, but came back with a vengeance. Several of the flame whips rushed for Minseok—he pulled out his sword to deflect, but they were formidable against his lack of cultivation base.

Jongdae turned around and his sword followed, slicing each of those flames into pieces of floating ember.

With the flames focused on Minseok, Jongdae jumped to the side with heavy breaths. The air was growing thin as the room was practically engulfed in flames now.

“We need to get through the window or the door! We’ll split up!” Minseok shouted.

“I’ll leave first and draw the attention on me, you run for the door after!” Jongdae rushed his words.

“No! I’ll go first, you leave after!”

Jongdae listened to none of what Minseok had to say and raced for the window. Minseok groaned loudly with anger and sprinted for the door.

What neither of them expected was for the flames to not follow Jongdae in the slightest. As he broke through the rest of the wooden window, only small licks of flames rushed out with his forceful departure.

Still in midair, Jongdar looked back to see if Minseok escaped. Unfortunately, what he saw was a wave of fire chasing after Minseok as he bulldozed through the doors of the room. And to his further dismay, the entire two-story inn was engulfed in raging hot flames—not just their room.

As for Minseok, who very well knew that the flames would be insistent on him, he ran with all the might his legs could muster. But even if he called upon all his strength, he wouldn’t be able to escape the columns of fire that cascaded down the hall. The air was thick with heat and smoke, suffocating to both the throat and eyes. Wisps of flames danced around his body, teasing and grazing against him, but he was able to bat at them with his bow. He almost felt bad for using a bow in such a manner, but he was desperate to get away.

It wasn’t a very long hallway, thankfully, so he was able to reach the stairs to the bottom floor in no time. Everything past the landing that Minseok could see was shrouded in oranges and yellows, fire dancing in chaotic waves and destroying everything in its path. Towards the entrance, it looked as if the last few remaining people in the inn were scurrying out. Minseok, however, was unlucky enough to watch several tongues of fire climb up in front of him before he could descend the stairs. They blocked his escape. He turned on his feet in hopes to find a different way out, but there were now solid walls of flames blocking the hallways.

Minseok gritted his teeth, turning each way in search of another exit.

Suddenly, unpleasant laughter filled with diabolical amusement rang out in the inn, echoing as if in a deep cavern.

The three barricades that trapped Minseok started to close in on him, the free space shrinking further and further as the laughter delighted in Minseok’s trepidation.

“Run, run little mouse. The tiger has come to play.” The voice that spoke used to be one of familiarity. Now it was cold.

Minseok gritted his teeth and unsheathed his sword, knowing full well he’d be struggling a lot more from here on out. Within a fingerbreadth of his life, the searing hot walls encased him—he swung out his sword and slashed one of the walls in half. The detached pieces dissipated so he swiped again. The wall was now low enough for him to jump over and make his way down the stairs. But before he could reach the last step, one of the tongues of fire wrapped around his ankle and yanked, making him fall on his front and hit his chin hard on the ground.

His sword tumbled out of his hand not far from him, but it wasn’t close enough for him to reach. The struggle against the hot pain on his ankle that pulled him backwards only worsened when three more tongues of fire wrapped around his legs, yanking him backwards and up the stairs. He felt his pants catching fire slowly—the materials and enchantments on the fabric made it particularly fireproof, but there was only so much they could endure.

With fingers desperately clutched onto one of the bottom stairs to keep himself from being taken, Minseok failed to notice another person in the room. Their steps were heavy amongst the roaring flame, like clicking heels of metal against wood. Once the boots of the person came into his peripheral, Minseok shot a glare up at the malicious character. Their eyes locked in a stalemate, one of fury and the other sick and twisted with enjoyment.

“If you’re going to kill me, then just do it!” Minseok yelled with labored breaths.

“Kill you? No, no, I still have great use for you. After all, it’s because of you that I’ve been missing my most valuable asset.” 

As if on cue, Minseok was released by the whips of fire and his body fell against the stairs. The edges of the steps crimped into his body and left an ache almost immediately. Minseok groaned as he crawled the rest of the way down. 

“My, my, this really is the most curious sight.” The cultivator in his dark blue robes stepped forward. “You really don’t have any powers, do you? Otherwise, you would have escaped already with no complications.”

Arms shaking as he hoisted himself up, Minseok coughed out a mouthful of blood.

He didn’t get very far when the cultivator took one step and pressed his foot down on Minseok’s back. He fell back down with no easy landing.

“B.. B-Byun Baekhyun ..” Minseok managed to get out in a strained voice.

“This truly is curious.” With a large smile plastered on his lips, Baekhyun snapped his fingers. “Why don’t we take advantage of this situation a little more, shall we?” The flames all disappeared into his hand, flowing directly into the ring that rested on his middle finger, all but two simple strands that wrapped around Minseok and levitated him in midair.

They were two bands of searing heat wrapped tightly against his legs and arms to prevent him from moving anywhere. Minseok struggled to break free, but of course, to no avail.

“Aww,” Baekhyun sucked his teeth. “The poor mouse is all tied up. Let’s see if we can expose it for the rat it is.”

Barreling through the entrance was a white and green robed figure. Hair flying in every direction, Jongdae sent his sword flying for the cultivator while one of his sleeves set out to claim Minseok.

Another sword of brilliance swooped in and blocked Jongdae’s sword. It was Horanggeom, the same sword that broke through the window. However, the sleeve that raced for Minseok was caught up with another random cultivator, clashing with their sword. This cultivator was wearing robes similar to Baekhyun’s, of Baekho Ridge Sect.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Baekhyun sang out his disagreement. 

The longer Jongdae weighed his options and fought with both his sleeves and his sword, the more the room began to fill with cultivators from the sect. The dark royal blue robes with the white outline of a tiger trailing down the right side.

Each cultivator that poured into the building surrounded Jongdae with readied swords. Some attacked, others were standing off and waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Kim Jongdae! Get out of here!” Minseok yelled as he craned his neck to watch the scene.

Of course, Jongdae did not listen and kept on fighting.

Baekhyun chuckled a horrible, mocking laugh. “He knows he’s outnumbered and cannot stand a chance against my sect’s cultivators. There’s only one option left for him, and yet he refuses to do it.”

“Kim Jongdae, leave! Go look for Zhang Yixing and Wu Yifan—” Before Minseok could finish, his mouth was wrapped shut with one of the strands of flames. It was warm, but thankfully not searing him.

As if in a trance, Jongdae refused to listen and went on fighting the cultivators. They closed in on him and swung their swords, herding him further toward the door he entered from. Minseok was panicked.The fact that his body was incapable of breaking free only made him feel worse. Where were the Lanling Jin cultivators?! Why weren’t they helping Jongdae?!

Jongdae froze for a moment, looked between the two cultivators striking down at him. He jumped and flipped backwards to dodge.

“Don’t let him escape!” Baekhyun yelled. “Though I doubt he’ll go far without his treasure, here.” He slapped a hand on Minseok’s thigh, as if patting him like a good friend. Minseok had half a mind to growl and flail to get him away but his body hurt. The fire was hot, and he really had used too much energy trying to escape.

Baekhyun walked leisurely out the door after his men, Minseok’s horizontal body floating slowly behind. The sound of swords clashing with one another and the small gasps of the inn workers could be heard the moment they walked into the courtyard. All of the patrons and workers were gathered in a corner of the courtyard, cowering and crying while several cultivators from Baekho Ridge watched over them. A few of the cultivators did not look quite right, like they had dysmorphia of a limb along with awful scowls on their faces.

The Lanling Jin cultivators were in a separate group, still wearing their sleepwear but wrapped in spirit binding ropes. Below them was a spiritual array glowing below and several dysmorphic cultivators surrounding them, swords drawn. The array was probably a ward to keep them from escaping, an extra precaution. 

Aside from all that, Jongdae fought against the Baekho Ridge members on his own. His robes were flowing every which way with every twist and turn he made to dodge and to strike. But Minseok noticed something was different about Jongdae’s demeanor. He wasn’t as poised, sloppy even. Like a cornered animal lashing out with everything it had to survive despite being exhausted. Minseok could see the sweat glistening on his temple in the moonlight and the straining clouds of breath on his lips.

His heart constricted and his stomach pulsated with every nerve. Jongdae was a more than capable cultivator, but he was sending spiritual energy to Minseok to keep him alive and was severely deprived of natural sleep. Something was wrong, very, very wrong with this. This situation was a set up. This was an organized ambush. They knew to separate the two of them.

The realization dawning on Minseok felt like a bath of cold water raining down on him.

They wanted Jongdae. Kim Jongdae was the target. Minseok was the bait.

And Byun Baekhyun had him. The son of the Baekho Ridge Sect Leader, the Taebaeksan, was undoubtedly and irrefutably toying with the both of them.

Knowing full well his voice couldn’t be heard, Minseok chose to scream and hope that Jongdae would take the hint and get away. It was muffled and guttural since it could not escape, but it caught Jongdae’s attention enough for them to lock eyes. Jongdae’s gaze was lethal, searing Minseok to the very core as he furiously shook his head and tried to convince him to stop fighting.

“You’re insistent, aren’t you.” Baekhyun loomed over Minseok and grabbed his face with a forceful hand. His palm covered Minseok’s mouth and tightly squeezed his cheeks to prevent him from moving. “Then again, you’ve always been as stubborn as a mule.” Baekhyun sighed out. “I suggest you shut up and let me play before I do what I came here for.” He smiled something wicked.

As Baekhyun held Minseok’s head down, their attention was focused away and they did not notice the sudden change in the battle. With a great swipe, Cheongal burned bright silver and sent out a ray of light that swept over nearly half the circle of cultivators around him. In that blinding light came the piercing sound of clanking metal. Shortly thereafter, from the bodies being pierced by those sounds came screams and cries. 

Cheongal, the sword of a thousand knives. It was an ancient heirloom of the Jinju Peony Sect passed down to Jongdae when he came of age, but to see Cheongal in action was a rarity. Jongdae only used its special attacks in dire situations. Everyone was in awe at the sheer might of it.

Baekhyun whipped himself around to find many of his men pierced with an invisible force and bleeding from those orifices. His face fell to a frown.

“I’ve been chasing you for a couple of months now.” His frown dropped even further. “If you think you’re fighting your way out of this…” Suddenly Minseok was sprung upright and held against Baekhyun with a sword jabbed into his side. “You’re gravely mistaken.”

It took a moment of surprise before Minseok coughed out another mouthful of blood that trickled past the fire band around his mouth. Thankfully, the sword wasn’t inside too deeply and missed vital spots, but it did not lessen any pain. This pain stung far worse than the fire, heavy and uncomfortable all while feeling like a white hot brand searing through his skin.

“There we go, now you’re tamable. Let’s calm down, hmm?” Baekhyun smirked as he displayed everything for Jongdae to see.

Hair awry and covering the majority of his face, Jongdae was frozen. His face unreadable, even after a few cultivators aggressively dove in and held his arms down. They tried to disarm him, but his stance was rock solid.

“Get your hands off him…” Jongdae muttered so utterly quiet that even the cultivators beside him couldn’t hear.

Baekhyun spoke as he pulled the sword out of Minseok’s side. “Now. Let’s get to business.”

 _“Let him go.”_ Jongdae screamed so uncharacteristically loud that his voice cracked. An unsettling sensation came from his voice so it almost hurt to hear it. Through his screams, he shoved through his restraints, hair flying and robes ripping with the force. He managed to free one arm and immediately sent another wave of knives from his sword out at the cultivators holding him. The swipe missed most of his targets, unfortunately. He was feral, fighting against the Baekho Ridge cultivators and killing them one by one.

Despite how frightening Jongdae was, Baekhyun showed no signs of giving up. He raised his arm and held the blade of his sword against Minseok’s neck.

“I told you to calm down. But it looks like I have to keep up the threat for you to listen.”

Jongdae paused with a gasp of air stuck in his throat as he watched them.

“Drop Cheongal.” Baekhyun’s voice was lethal, showing quite the venomous side of himself.

Jongdae struggled internally for a good minute before letting the sword fall to the ground.

Minseok yelled through his bound mouth. Jongdae needed to pick the sword back up, how could he so easily listen to that?

“Hold him down,” Baekhyun ordered his men and each of the remaining ones quickly went in and held Jongdae’s arms back like he was a ferocious corpse, incapable of thought.

“Good. Now, get on your knees.”

One leg after the other, Jongdae knelt to the ground.

Minseok’s breath hitched at the sight, his body tensing more and more the longer this dragged out.

“Good boy. See? Is it so difficult to listen to me?” The air was thick with tension and the smell of blood.

“You promised to leave him out of this,” Jongdae finally spoke in a meek voice.

“Mmm,” Baekhyun hummed in agreeance as he pulled his sword back and let the icy tip press into Minseok’s neck. “I did say that, didn’t I? But that was before he went ahead and put his nose where it didn’t belong. Unfortunately for him, he had to die.” He twirled the sword back and forth, letting the tip circle on the delicate skin. “But by some miracle, you’ve been brought back. And that means there’s room for mercy. I can still spare his life while it’s in my hands.”

Jongdae’s head hung low.

“If you’ll only do that thing we made a deal over so many years ago.”

Minseok could just hear the smile growing on Baekhyun’s lips.

“No..” Jongdae whispered.

Without a second’s thought Baekhyun ripped his sword back and jammed it back into Minseok’s side. Same spot, yet with a turn of the blade, both opening and deepening the wound.

Minseok screamed in agony.

“Please.. Stop..” Jongdae’s head was still hung low and he refused to look at either Baekhyun or Minseok.

“I’ll stop when you start doing what I want you to.” Baekhyun took the blade out and let Minseok fall to the ground, wiping his blade clean of the blood. “Now, you’re going to do me that little favor. I’ve been lacking souls that I’ve so been trying to collect. You’re going to use that pretty little voice of yours and you’re going to attract the town here and paralyze them so we can do the rest of the work.” He smiled with a tilt of his head. “Of course, if you don’t, I can’t guarantee his safety.” The sword pointed back down at Minseok.

Minseok had managed to sit himself up through the grueling pain, his head spinning from the blood loss and the information he was taking in. Just what deal in the past did Baekhyun and Jongdae make for the situation to come to this?

[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AdZTBtzA4I)

It didn’t take much longer for the cogs to click into place in Minseok’s head. The gathering of souls! Baekhyun’s need for Jongdae suddenly made sense. Baekhyun needed spirits and was sending them to that limbo world. He was harvesting them for some reason. Minseok never knew what happened at the very bottom of the place, but it was entirely possible the souls were being deliberately harvested. It made sense, since there were demons involved, needed to make sure everything was running smoothly. What didn’t make sense was what they were doing it for. That part was a still a mystery. 

Jongdae’s part in all this was that he could paralyze people with the sound of his voice. If they were paralyzed, then the Baekho Ridge cultivators could attack from behind, silently. Meaning no one would be in a panic before their death and their souls would be more willing to leave the earth and go to the spirit realm rather than stay as resentful spirits, stubbornly fighting against them. Minseok’s face scrunched with the new information—Jongdae was being threatened to do these kinds of things!

“Please don’t ask this of me… I swore to never sing again.” Jongdae’s voice was so weak and defeated it made Minseok feel hopeless.

“You know you’re in no position to refuse me, right? I have Kim Minseok’s life in my hands. I bet he doesn’t even know the dirty things you’ve done. It’d be a shame if I told him and that little wall of trust the two of you have been building just came crashing down.” Baekhyun waved a hand and Minseok’s frail body went vertical again. Baekhyun grabbed Minseok’s mouth once more and forced him to stare at Jongdae. “Hey, did you know? That for the last five years I’ve been threatening him into attracting souls of the dead for me? And that within the last few years I’ve gotten him to start paralyzing villages of people so we could harvest their fresh new souls?”

“Stop!” Jongdae yelled out.

“Ah-ha! Yes, yes! The amount of blood on his hands has to be hundreds of lives!”

 _“Stop!”_ Jongdae pleaded so utterly desperately.

“Of course, I had to raise the stakes to get him to paralyze people, he’s been very unwilling. The first time five years ago was easy. I overheard him singing a little song about a certain someone on the balcony of my pavilion. His little love song.” Baekhyun’s voice was like a snake. “I threatened that I would reveal the secret feelings of his unrequited love, and it worked for a time! But then I had to threaten him with your life. And as of late, I knew I’d have to do a little more than threaten your life to convince him, so I threatened his whole sect. If he doesn’t obey me, then a very nasty force of demons is going to be released on his sect and wipe the whole place to the ground.” 

It was sickening how jovial Baekhyun’s voice was as he wiggled Minseok’s head around. “But then our little friend here, Hwarang Leader Kim Minseok, just had to go and find out what I was doing and was about to spill the beans to everyone. So, we’ve been distracted with your situation and haven’t really had room to implement my threats. But now that I know I have him cornered, I think now’s a good time to start using them… What do you make of all this, Kim Minseok? Isn’t he just despicable?” Baekhyun pulled the strand of fire off of Minseok’s mouth.

Minseok breathed out a stifled puff of air and his chest rose and fell with his growing anxiousness.

His eyes never left Jongdae for a second. This was always about Jongdae, for _years_ it had always been about him. Minseok just happened to get involved—he was but a bug amid a stampede of hungry, ravenous animals.

“It is…” Minseok started, catching Jongdae’s attention, “an unfortunate circumstance that I do not blame him for.” Both Minseok and Jongdae locked eyes. “My heart is grieved for the lost souls. But I do not understand why you threaten him with my life. Before this time we spent together, we were sworn enemies. You could have easily ignored him!” He directed the last sentence to Jongdae.

Jongdae quickly turned his head away, almost as if he were ashamed.

Baekhyun gave an incredulous look between the two. “Wait.. You mean to tell me… He doesn’t… He doesn’t know?!” Baekhyun doubled over with a raucous laugh, slapping his thigh as he flailed. “Oh, this is rich! He doesn’t know!” Some of the cultivators holding Jongdae down even dared to laugh. “My dear friend, the feelings that Lord Sungjeong, Kim Jongdae, feels for you are much stronger than any kind of hatred.”

Minseok’s face went pale as he lost all feeling in his body. The words, “No, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it,” repeated over and over in his mind.

“He thinks that if he were to run away and keep you hidden, everything would be fine. But creating the right circumstances is all it takes to corner him.”

“What do you mean?” Minseok turned to Baekhyun.

“Do you actually think it was by chance that a horde of corpses attacked the Lanling Jin envoy? That they were particular about attacking the supplies that would need to be repaired in the neighboring town? All it took was a few well-placed pieces of gold for the carpenter to delay the easy fixes until I got enough men here. And my, oh, my, this couldn’t have gone any smoother. Well, of course minus my dead cultivators.”

“You knew we were here…” Minseok breathed out.

“It really isn’t that difficult to find a group of foreign cultivators.”

Minseok swallowed hard and slowly looked over at Jongdae.

“You’ve been forcing people into groups for slaughter? Is this true?” He asked with a wavering voice.

Jongdae did not respond.

“…I.. do not agree with this.. But.. the one I wish to curse is you.” Minseok spat at Baekhyun. “Just what have you done to him?!”

“I think it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t really done anything but exploit his cowardice and his power. Everything has been his own doing, _his_ own actions.”

“No, you forced his hand! He did not ask for this! He has not consented to this! What could you possibly need all this for?!”

 _“Hmph_ , I’m surprised with all the information you found out, you did not get the reason why. Of course, it’s for power.”

Minseok raised a brow, almost as a scowl. “Power? But you’re Byun Baekhyun of Baekho Ridge, first son of Byun Baekje, the Taebaeksan! You’re practically next in line to be Chief Cultivator!” His elevating anger made his blood boil and seep out faster, a lightheadedness quickly overcame him and he slumped over while holding his side.

“Not if the Crown Prince abolishes our ability to have a Chief Cultivator. He’s talked for years about wanting peace and equality among the people and cultivators. Once that cretin of a prince takes the throne, my authority won’t be nearly as strong as it should be. The moment I have the power I need, no one will ever doubt my authority again. Not even an army of cultivators from across the boarders could stop me.” Baekhyun tossed his glowering gaze to Minseok, who was still agonizing on the ground. “And,” he raised a foot to push Minseok over. “A score can finally be settled.”

Minseok looked up into those murderous eyes. Baekhyun’s face was dark with shadows, but the glint in his eyes did nothing but instill terror.

Baekhyun’s foot then rammed into Minseok’s wound. The resulting blood-curdling wail shook everyone to their bones.

Yifan bit back his tongue and Yixing cried out, “Stop it!” until someone socked him in the jaw to shut him up.

“Mmm.. Maybe I’m not persuasive enough.” Baekhyun’s gaze fell back on Jongdae’s shaking figure. He looked traumatized watching Minseok suffer. “Get the box.”

After a moment of shuffling from the Baekho cultivators, they appeared with a rather small wooden box. It was old and weathered, splinters sticking out every which way. Through struggle-narrowed eyes, Minseok looked at the scene before him, trying to piece together what the box was for as cultivators were lifting the top of it open.

“Put him in,” Baekhyun commanded, a few strands of his hair falling out of place over his forehead as he watched everyone with a glower.

“What..?” Minseok muttered, still barely coming back from the pulsing pain that sent his mind for a spin just a moment ago.

The cultivators that brought over the box rushed for Minseok, snatching his arms and dragging him towards it.

“W-Wait, what are you—no! No! _No. No!”_

The realization settled in as his body was dragged closer, that pitted and sinking fear took over his mind and he relentlessly shouted against them. He thrashed his body, pulling away with the little might he had left but to no avail. His strength was like that of a child to these cultivators, who were easily lifting him above the box to settle him in.

With each passing scream Minseok bellowed to be let go, everyone in the courtyard shamefully dropped their heads and looked away. Not all of them knew of his fear, but they didn’t need to be told about it with just this simple interaction.

Amongst all that chaos, the melody of a gentle voice rang in their ears. It was a quick distraction, pulling them all towards the body that drew forth such a mellifluous, yet melancholic sound. They were the words of a poem, perfectly sculpted and hauntingly beautiful to sound like something out of a scripture.

Jongdae had finally let his voice out, beckoning the villagers who were asleep in their homes to come out. He sang for a while and it carried quite the distance, but not too far as his powers were much too weak now. After a few minutes, a few bodies of sleepy men and women and a few children began to appear. The Baekho cultivators had not been affected by the voice, each of them possessed specific talismans that prevented them from being controlled. They all witnessed the power of Jongdae’s voice in awe—this was the Voice of Tread, the power to use one’s voice to beckon the souls of the living to them. It was a forbidden art, like the Song of Paralysis.

Minseok had been restrained outside of the box, thankfully, and all their attention was drawn elsewhere.

“Yes, that’s right. Round them up with the rest.” Baekhyun let out a despicable chortle.

Jongdae obeyed and walked himself over to the imprisoned inn staff, shaking off the Baekho cultivators on him.

“What are you doing…” Minseok whispered as he watched more and more villagers appear. “You can’t do this.. Kim Jongdae! Stop what you’re doing!”

No one listened.

 _“Kim Jongdae!”_ he screamed, and for a moment, just so very slightly Jongdae paused. That was short-lived when Baekhyun snapped his fingers and the cultivators holding Minseok started to lift him up and over the box again.

Jongdae’s voice quickly picked back up and the people followed him. The cultivators simply held Minseok’s body over the box, blood seeping down his side and legs struggling to be free, but what he screamed about wasn’t fear of the small box. It was about Jongdae and what he was doing—leading these innocent lives to their deaths.

_“Kim Jongdae, Stop! Why are you doing this?!”_

Baekhyun stood off to the side just roaring with laughter, as if this was the most hilarious scene ever. Minseok turned a strained neck to glare at Baekhyun and reprimand, _“How could you make him do this?! He isn’t that kind of person!”_

“Oh but he is, if you apply the right pressure.” Baekhyun nodded his head and the cultivators lowered him further into the box.

In agonizing fear, Minseok shouted at the top of his lungs. _“Stop! Stop! Just kill me, please, just kill me!”_ He bellowed with red eyes, keeping a sharp focus on Jongdae’s back. As each passing second ticked on, Minseok’s head felt lighter and lighter and his body grew cold. There was no energy in him to do anything. Those last few words took quite a toll on him and it angered Baekhyun.

“Your life will stay in my hands so long as he lives. You die when I tell you to.” Baekhyun’s lips grew to a twisted smile.

Panting, Minseok said, “Jongdae… Kim Jongdae… Please… It doesn’t matter, I don’t matter. Just stop this. Don’t do it.” The cultivators holding him had brought him back down and let his knees crumple to the ground.

Jongdae’s song came to an end and a good fifty-something villagers were gathered. He let out a quick, legato, two-note sound from his mouth and the prisoners all froze. Then, as if staged and done hundreds of times before, the Baekho cultivators sent out yellow talismans to their backs and struck them all down from behind. A surge of wind rushed through the courtyard and immediately the souls of the murdered civilians gathered in a ball of energy above them. Several Baekho cultivators with seals on their hands gathered around and focused their energy, absorbing the souls into a single jade seal in Baekhyun’s hand.

Jongdae had long since fallen to his knees.

“Kim Jongdae… What if… What if he was just bluffing? How could you…” Minseok’s voice was weak and waivered.

“Oh, don’t you worry. I’m not bluffing. It was a few years back when he first refused me that I sent hordes of demons to attack his sect. There was a night when more than half the watchtowers in the east had been demolished by demons. Not a single cultivator was left alive.” Baekhyun walked over to Minseok with his hands playfully held behind his back. “You think I’m bluffing when he knows full well what will happen if he disobeys me again. He can watch the death of his sect and friends _all over again_.”

Minseok lifted his head weakly to Baekhyun, barely an audible sound leaving his lips, “You… You made him watch?”

“Of course, how else is he supposed to learn?” Baekhyun gave an incredulous look, as if this was the most obvious answer.

Suddenly, the high-pitched screech of a firework trail flew up into the sky. Everyone turned their attention toward it and watched as a golden peony glinted into thousands of sparks.

A rumble of shouts and reprimands came from the Baekho cultivators by the Lanling Jin cultivators. Yixing stood tall on his knees, an emergency firework placed between both his bound palms.

Baekhyun snickered at the scene, “Heh, what use is that to you here? Your sect is thousands of miles out of reach. And I doubt there are any cultivators that aren’t preoccupied in the capital.”

“You’re wrong,” Yixing declared. “We’ve been missing from the capital for a few days now. There will be search parties for us. And…” He paused to let his words sink in. “It distracted you, didn’t it?”

“Huh?” Baekhyun went to mock him, but before he could, Jongdae was already headed for him at full speed.

A second later and Baekhyun would have collided with Jongdae in a terrible way. Instead, he managed to snatch Minseok and dodge before Jongdae could land a blow on him.

All in just a few seconds, Jongdae had shot out his sleeve to capture Minseok from Baekhyun’s claws, but another cultivator intercepted and attacked. Jongdae’s sleeve missed and pushed Baekhyun with an intense force, separating Minseok from him at the impact.

At the same time, the cultivator that intercepted Jongdae sent out a forceful blow of his sword that Jongdae bent his back to avoid. As he stood straight up, he grabbed the cultivator’s wrist and whisked him around so his arm dislocated and used his body as a shield. But as Jongdae steadied the two of them, what his gaze met with sunk his heart to the ground. Minseok’s body that had gone flying was sliced across the middle with the sword slash Jongdae had dodged just seconds ago.

A gasped moan of terror left Jongdae’s lips and he threw the cultivator to the side. Before Minseok’s head could hit the ground, he reached out and supported it with a hand. Without a second thought, Jongdae cradled Minseok’s lifeless body in his arms, his hands quivering over the blood that had clotted on the pink robes.

“Kim Minseok…” Jongdae whispered in a trembling voice, as if afraid to hear what kind of voice would answer back.

Tear after tear rolled down his cheeks, not sparing a moment to swell or mist, they were uncontrollable and unrelenting.

“I’m so sorry…” Jongdae whispered again as he lifted the unmoving body closer to his chest. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated in a heavy breath. “I’m such a coward.”

To his left, the sound of rushing footsteps hadn’t even alerted him. All he could do was cry with a stiff body in his arms.

It was a cultivator coming over to slap a talisman on Minseok’s body. With a seal on her hand, she focused her energy toward the talisman, but nothing ever came of it.

“Sir.. It’s not working..” The cultivator uttered to Baekhyun.

“Because you are an idiot, that’s why.” Baekhyun scowled as he sidled up to the cultivator that had attacked Jongdae but missed and hit Minseok.

“Sir, I—” Before she could finish her sentence, Baekhyun had raised his arm and his hand pulsated with a dark energy, enlarging it before wrapping it around her frail neck. Like a snapped twig, her body went limp and was tossed to the side.

“The talisman must be placed on a live body to catch the soul when the host dies.” With gritted teeth he continued, “It’s too late. His soul’s long gone.” Baekhyun had his fists clenched so hard that one could swear they heard bones cracking. “Throw them and the Lanling cultivators into the carriages, lock them up. We leave for the capital, _now_.” He stormed off in a fury.

“Yes sir.” The cultivators all saluted.

“What of the rest of the inn staff and villagers?”

Baekhyun spared no one a glance, his dark eyes focused on whatever was ahead. “Kill them all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(


	18. 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: claustrophobia, gore, angst
> 
> and a BEAUTIFUL painting of our main characters by XiuChen4Ever (twt: @4EverXiuChen) look at it, look at the angst, the detail T^T

The bouncing rhythm of the carriage was far from soothing, but the soft sound that Jongdae hummed next to Minseok’s ear somehow made it so.

A deep breath rushed back into Minseok’s chest but stung immediately with the pain on his side and stomach. With a sweeping gaze, he immediately processed the situation. It was dark and sullen, the moonlight barely filtering through the paper windows. His chest began to rise and fall faster and faster, a hyperventilation settling in. He clutched onto Jongdae’s arms for dear life as a cold sweat perforated all over his cooling body.

Jongdae held Minseok fast. Feeling the body in his arms tremble violently, he pulled him closer. Minseok’s erratic breath was hot on his chest as he stroked his hair and gently sang him a familiar song. It was more of a hum so that no one outside could hear, just enough for Minseok’s ears only.

The fog in Minseok’s mind slowly cleared, focusing solely on the sound of Jongdae’s voice rather than the space around him. Eventually, he was calmer, breathing stabilized but body still trembling with anxiety.

“…I’m sorry,” Jongdae muttered atop Minseok’s head.

“Stop apologizing,” he responded.

“…I’m sorry..” Jongdae tucked Minseok closer to his chest.

Minseok did not respond and instead let himself be held, even losing his fingers in the strands of hair that fell over Jongdae’s shoulder.

“You promised you’d never use your paralysis on me again,” Minseok quipped.

Not a sound came from Jongdae.

“But thank you for using it. I can’t imagine… Where I would be right now, if not here.”

After a moment, Jongdae separated their closeness but kept Minseok secure in his arms. “…I could only wrap your wounds and staunch the bleeding as best I could. You’ve lost so much blood, I don’t—”

Minseok slowly raised a hand and rested it against Jongdae’s jaw. “Kim Jongdae, I’m not going to make it this time.”

The moonlight outside was mostly obscured by the trees above, but in that particular moment, enough was shining through the windows that Jongdae could see Minseok’s bittersweet smile and Minseok could see Jongdae’s paling face.

“There’s no use in stopping any more bleeding, I can barely hold out any longer.”

“No, please!” Jongdae grabbed Minseok’s hand on his jaw and held it tightly there. “Please, hold on. Just a bit longer, until we get to the capital!” His voice was rushed and whispered.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make better use of the second chance you gave me. But thank you, for everything—”

“Kim Minseok, stop talking like that!”

“I really am tired, Kim Jongdae.. By rights I shouldn’t even be here, I was supposed to die a long time ago. This time, I really don’t think there’s a third chance for me. But.. my only regret is that you didn’t say anything.. I wish I could’ve helped you.. I wish.. you didn’t have to go through any of this.”

“Please stop talking!” Jongdae sobbed, his voice a mess of his emotions.

“You don’t deserve this.” Minseok spoke with great grief in his voice. Jongdae’s eyes were lined with hot tears that grew cold against his hand. “Nobody asks for the terrible things done to them.”

Jongdae closed his eyes and relished Minseok cupping his face. He seemed to calm down just a bit.

“If I had asked you for help when this first started, I don’t think you would have.” He chuckled bittersweetly as he reminisced their old dynamic, a few tears dancing on his long black eyelashes as they fluttered open.

“No, I would have helped,” Minseok said firmly.

Jongdae tilted his head and almost grimaced at him.

“…I just wouldn’t have done it for _you,_ then.”

The carriage went silent but heavy with their emotions. They could barely make out the expression on each other’s faces, so this made for an opportunity to let it all out. To stop hiding behind the dark and embrace the light of their hearts.

Minseok took back his hand and tucked it into himself. “What did.. What did Byun Baekhyun mean when he said your feelings were ‘much stronger than any kind of hatred?’” His voice was soft, drawing out the intimate air between them.

Jongdae whispered breathlessly, nearly taken aback, “…Do you really not know?”

Minseok froze and his throat choked up when their gazes locked.

It was a good while before anyone spoke.

“…I thought it was obvious,” Jongdae continued with a light chuckle, one that was almost self-deprecating. “I even… I even thought that you were possibly reciprocating those feelings…” Jongdae’s head hung over, he was so afraid of what Minseok would look like in the little lighting there was. “I thought that because I was so obvious and that you still hadn’t pushed me away, that I had a chance. To get closer to you.. But how could I be so naive? How could two strangers like us become something more than friends?” The hurt and disappointment in Jongdae’s voice resonated deep in Minseok’s chest. It physically pained him to hear him talk like that.

But of course, Minseok knew. Junmyeon was the first to bring it up all that time ago and it wasn’t hard to piece together the words of Lu Han and Bei Xiong, telling him that someone on the other side really loved him to keep him connected. He was just a coward, too afraid to admit that it might be true.

As if all words and questions escaped him, Minseok finally responded. “…We’re friends.” He paused to gather his thoughts a moment more. “I-It took a while, but I do at least see you as a friend, Kim Jongdae.” Minseok reached out for Jongdae’s hand and held onto it gently. With a sharp intake of breath, he said shakily, “You are very important to me.”

“When you say things like that, it gives me hope—”

“But how can you feel like this? I’ve done nothing to warrant it from you—”

Both tried to carry on over the other’s voice as they spoke above one another, but they were stubborn and once they realized neither would yield, they quieted.

Minseok did not hear Jongdae completely but Jongdae’s face grew bright with embarrassment and a bit of anger.

“You haven’t the right to say something like that to me.”

Minseok was taken aback and his lips slightly parted in shock.

“I am what I am and I feel how I feel. Nothing can dictate that otherwise… But you may be right… I should not have these feelings towards you. I should hate you to the very core of my being but I just… can’t. You make me so angry and crawl under my skin so much to the point that I have no choice but to lash out against you. But I also lose my mind and all clear thoughts when it comes to you. You drive me insane, and yet I am a mess both with and without you.”

Jongdae entwined their fingers, each of their slender tendrils sliding easily through one another. A burst of warmth surged in Minseok’s cooling heart. “…I couldn’t tell you why, but I can tell you when it started… It was about two years after our first meeting. There was a meeting in the capital about demonic and monster activity in the country when nearby villages were suddenly being hassled by demons. Many of the juniors set out to take care of the problem, no one thought much of a few demons.” 

Jongdae paused for a moment and a small smile grew on his lips as he reminisced on his thoughts. “…The first night there, many of us were trying to find an inn to stay the night. There was one inn that we were told might have some room, so we ventured over. But on the way there, there was an awful racket in the market. One of the waitresses at a tea shop was being harassed by one of the customers. I heard a smash of teacups and naturally went looking to see what was happening, and when a girl screamed, I made over even faster. But before I could even set foot on the veranda, there was someone who had already intervened. He held the assailant’s arm high and said, ‘A woman’s body is not free real estate for you to touch.’ The assailant was so furious, he nearly punched this man in the face but with a crack, his wrist was broken. He then continued to say, ‘She told you no. You will respect that.’ Then the man with the broken wrist cried out to be let go and apologized immediately. 

“That young maiden of a server rose back to her feet and bowed several times over, thanking the one who stood up for her. That customer had been harassing her for weeks. She tried to give him free items to further thank him, but he humbly declined, paid for his full meal and went on his way with the rest of his sect members… They were all annoyed with his violence,” Jongdae chuckled, “but I felt that it was necessary to get the message across.. That was the first moment I realized you weren’t so terrible, and held a slight level of respect for you…Then somehow, along the way, every interaction we had, I fell into habit and just engaged in fights with you. I thought that if I could face you head on, I could increase my bravery.. The more I fought the more I thought, yes, I can be like him. Yes, he’ll finally acknowledge me as more than an enemy. I tried not to instigate, but it’s hard when you run your mouth sometimes. You genuinely drive me crazy.”

Minseok chuckled, there was no doubt about that. He really used to run his mouth when he was younger and ashamedly said some very… very rude things.

“But I’m nothing more than a cow-hearted imbecile. I’m such a coward…” Jongdae said breathlessly. 

Minseok frowned. “You shouldn’t like me just based on that. And you’re not a coward.”

“I think you don’t have the right to dictate how I feel. And I am a coward. I can’t do anything when those important to me are threatened with their lives. I can’t do anything.. You’re so much more the magnificent person than I am, the person I _want_ to be. You’re amazing, Kim Minseok.” Jongdae brought his other free hand to run his fingers through Minseok’s loose hair. “But you’re right. I fell for you for the things you did outside of our interactions. I liked watching you with your friends. I liked how noble you were, you always stood for what you believed in. You really embodied the motto of my sect, and I really admired that. Outside of our first meeting, and how we were with each other, I couldn’t deny that you were growing into a fine cultivator. 

“Somewhere along the way, I thought differently of that respect. I craved your attention, I wanted to be closer with you, like the way you are with Young Master Jung, or the other members of the Hwarang. So I stayed where I was, not trying to improve our relationship, and thought it was the only way you’d notice me. And along the way, those complicated feelings developed into something deeper..”

Minseok had long since closed his eyes, reveling in the delicate fingers that groomed through his hair. But his heart ached with those words from Jongdae’s gentle voice.

“…Did you know, that day when I invited you to see me sing, I had never been happier?” Jongdae whispered with a smile.

Minseok’s face immediately went red. “W-What do you mean? Why would you be happy over that? I said mean things and d-didn’t go.”

“I know you went. I saw you.”

Minseok’s body was paralyzed with all kinds of mortification. “H-How?!”

“You’re not as sneaky as you think,” Jongdae quipped playfully. “I saw you poke your head in before hiding behind the curtains. Even then, your sword hilt stuck out from your hip.”

Minseok broke their hands apart and quickly hid his face in the palms of his hands.

“I would catch glimpses of you leaving when I would be singing to myself during night hunts. And I know you would visit my performances more times than the one I invited you to.” Jongdae peeled Minseok’s hands away and held them easily in his own. With a drawn-out smile on Jongdae’s curved lips, Minseok felt his heart flutter faster within his chest. “May I..?” Jongdae raised Minseok’s left hand and nodded towards it.

Minseok’s head was much too whirled around, his body too stiff and warm all at the same time for him to properly understand what Jongdae meant, but he nodded anyways with a bashfulness about his face. Jongdae brought Minseok’s hand to his lips and tenderly left a kiss.

The spot grew hot where his lips lingered and remained that way for a long while after.

The smile that danced on Jongdae’s lips always had a tinge of sadness as he spoke, and now, it set forth into a deliberate frown.

“I didn’t want to tell you like this. I never wanted you to find out,” he muttered. “If you were to hate me so much that you never wanted anything to do with me again… I could never live with myself.”

Feeling his weak heart thump for the man holding him, Minseok could find no words to respond with.

Jongdae’s frown only seemed to deepen. He grabbed Minseok’s shoulder and pulled him tight against his chest, nearly sobbing into his ear. “Please, can’t you just hold on for a few more days?” he whispered with an aggressive sadness to his voice.

Minseok could only close his eyes and calm the trepidation in his heart with their hug. “I’d have been long gone if it were not for you. Just look at you now, do you even have any spiritual power left in your body? There’s no way you can keep giving me spiritual energy while barely having any to spare for yourself. It’s time you let me go.. For your sake, let me go and live for yourself. This last month you’ve focused on me alone, this past decade we spent harming one another. Even if I harbor no hatred for you anymore, I still hurt you. It’s you that I must beg to live for yourself.”

“If you die, it’ll kill me,” Jongdae whispered so very quietly and ominously.

Minseok shut his mouth and could not think of any way to refute or console him—so he let Jongdae stay there, holding him in his trembling arms.

Jongdae went to tighten his grip as he cried against Minseok’s shoulder, but his nose grazed the talisman that had been left there from the cultivator trying to capture his soul. In a fit of anger, he ripped the yellow paper away and was ready to incinerate it when Minseok held his wrist tightly.

“What is that?” Minseok asked curiously.

“The talisman to hold a soul in place, to make sure it doesn’t scatter before they can lead it into the jade seal. It has a direct link to the jade seal itself.” Jongdae spat, but not in vehemence towards Minseok, but rather at the talisman itself.

Minseok simply stared at the red cinnabar markings of the paper, focused in deep thought.

“It works so long as the person has not taken their own life?” he questioned further.

Jongdae nodded slowly, afraid to understand where this was going.

“Do you know how to use the jade seal?” Minseok asked again.

“…Yes.” Jongdae was more reluctant to answer this time.

“Kim Jongdae. I have an idea. But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

“…” Jongdae stared blankly at him.

“I want you to send my soul into the spirit realm of that jade seal.”

Jongdae took a good long moment before responding, the silence was so deafening that even the carriage crunching over rocks and pebbles on the path was hardly louder.

“I… I can’t do that.”

“But if you can send me there while still being attached to this body, I might be able to come back with the rest of my soul intact!” His heart started to race with slight excitement, the idea seemed almost foolproof.

“There’s most certainly no way I can ensure something like that.”

“Yes, you can! You did it before! You were able to attract my soul to your voice while I was deep in that realm. If you can use your voice like Empathy, you might be able to link yourself to me while I’m there. And while I’m there, I can get my soul back, rescue Lu Han, and figure out a way to get rid of the barrier at the bottom.”

“No matter how convincing you think you are, I refuse to do this,” Jongdae said firmly.

“If I’m going to die, then I might as well do it trying to fight for my life.” Minseok held Jongdae’s hand in his own once again. “Even if you don’t want to do Empathy, that’s fine. All I ask is for you to at least help me get there. I’m almost sure that this can work.”

“How can I even emulate what I did before? I had no idea that I was summoning you through the use of my voice, how could I attempt that again?” Jongdae protested.

“Sing, like you’ve always done. Find me in that song, search for me just like you did before. I will find you, and I will hold on to you. If we’re connected, you’ll know where I am. If things get too risky, then you can pull me out. But I’ll be able to protect myself when I am whole, you won’t have to worry over me. I’ll break that world and make sure no soul is sent to it again.”

Jongdae’s beautiful face was lined with tears, eyes glimmering in the moonlight more than usual as he stared down at Minseok. Using his other hand, he wiped the stray tears that fell onto Minseok’s face. In a trembling voice he whispered, “What if I can’t pull you back? What if I can’t bring you back to your body? Kim Minseok, you’re as good as dead, then.”

Minseok offered him a poignant smile. “I won’t make a promise I don’t know if I can keep. It may be best if I were gone, anyways. That way you can focus on yourself. Protect yourself, protect your family. Tell everyone of Baekhyun’s treachery. Don’t let him threaten you with me. Show him no fear.”

“..He doesn’t scare me so much.” Jongdae curled their intertwined fingers further and let a thumb stroke the back of Minseok’s hand. “But the thought of losing you… terrifies me… I’d rather hide you away and live like we have been than risk losing you completely. You can’t ask this of me.”

“By all means, I haven’t the right to ask you. But with how weak you are right now, I won’t be surviving much longer, anyway. I figure being whole in death would be more satisfying than being split in two or scattered.”

Jongdae hunched over, tears now rushing from his eyes as he stifled his sobs.

“…I’ve failed you… I’m so sorry.” His voice quavered with each word.

Minseok ran a hand through Jongdae’s tangled black locks, still smooth like the finest silk and darker than any kind of night. “You owe me nothing,” he whispered in response. “You haven’t failed me, Kim Jongdae. I do not blame you for any of this. And I do not loathe you.” A frown crept over his lips as his gaze fell. “It was wrong of me to ask you to send my soul away. I’m sorry for that.. But please, just let me go. Look at you, you’re shaking with how exhausted you are.”

It was plain as day that Jongdae’s body was so weak from all the energy he’d expended, his muscles ached and shook with fatigue and his complexion looked similar to the ghastly blue-white look on Minseok’s face.

“We’re both just killing each other like this.” Minseok brought his voice down even lower. “Let’s let go, and find each other somewhere in the future. Not as enemies, but as something kinder.” That melancholic smile offered itself to Jongdae’s grimace of distress.

After a moment of silence Jongdae responded, “…Is this what you want, what you truly want?”

“Yes.”

Jongdae sucked in a breath of air and held it tight in his lungs. He let it all out with a shaky sigh and gradually stopped the flow of spiritual energy he was constantly sending to Minseok.

As the spiritual energy left, Minseok felt how heavy his body actually was and how torn up his insides and the passages of his meridians were. Blood immediately ran from all seven of his facial openings. He was no longer warm, but ice cold to the very touch. No matter how one looked at it, his body was a walking qi-deviation. 

Jongdae watched as Minseok’s eyes fluttered and the light in his eyes slowly began to fade.

He had no idea that Minseok would go so quickly like this, so in a hurried panic he began to sing the only song that came to mind whenever he thought of Kim Minseok:

“ _The night won’t be too long, so please hurry_  
_We don’t need many words, we already knew_ _  
_ Just looking at you brings tears to my eyes…”

Despite how unstable and cracked Jongdae’s voice was, a small smile somehow managed to twitch at the corners of Minseok’s lips. 

“I’ve… always loved… the sound…” Minseok’s voice was hardly above a whisper, so weak it was difficult for even Jongdae to understand.

But his words could not finish, so he raised a hand with much difficulty to rest against Jongdae’s face. It never got to feel how warm it was for the last time before his hand fell back down.

His body slumped and a final breath was drawn softly from his still lips.

Jongdae, like a crazed mother protecting her offspring, frantically activated the talisman and held onto the very last sliver of soul that had been in the body. In the next moment, a great gust of wind pulsed and the jade seal that had been tucked somewhere in Minseok’s robes sprung to life with a bright light. The entire traveling caravan had to stop as the jade seal pulled in the essence of what was the very last soul it would ever take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(((((
> 
> at least there was some kind of confession from one of them


	19. 18

Instantaneously, there was nothing. Nothing to feel and nothing to see. Dark, yet transparent; cold, yet unfeeling. There was an enigma to this feeling, to this faint wisp of an essence that felt like the smallest of breaths could whisk it away.

Soon, at the end of that nothingness, there was a bead of light, like a speck of dust catching the burning gaze of the sun. From that speck there was a light hum, like a dull tinnitus dancing in and out of awareness.

The speck drew nearer and nearer, turning into the size of a pea, then a piece of jade, and so on. With the increase in size, the sound became clearer to the specter. A voice, delicate like honey and clear as a fresh spring of water sang:

“ _ I’ll throw away my immature, petty pride _ _   
_ _ And fill that space with words _ _   
_ _ of love I was too awkward to say. _ _   
_ _ The long night melts away any hatred we had. _ __   
_ Isn’t that enough? _ _   
_ __ I will be better… ”

A light was before the specter, fuzzy and a bit distorted, but still tangibly there. It was in the shape of something familiar, but the specter could hardly remember what. Even the song had a familiarity to it that was addictive. This whole presence was something that made it want to reach out and… 

With the force of raging winds, the specter was whirled away to somewhere far, somewhere that could feel the fiery burn of separation from its other piece. It went on for what felt like an eternity and was nearly impossible to bear had it not been for the soft voice that sang within itself. The voice as cool as a spring night and bright like the beaming moon itself. 

“Kim Jongdae…” The name repeated over and over in the specter’s thoughts, so much to the point that it nearly became obsessed.  _ Kim Jongdae, _ it had no idea where this word came from or what it belonged to, but all the specter knew was that it was holding it together. Like a sick pup clinging to the one giving it warmth and kindness, this specter clung to the name and the voice that paraded through its thoughts until there was no more pain.

Then all at once, everything stopped.

With the weight of thousands of heavy walls slamming against his mind consecutively, Kim Minseok finally opened his eyes.

His body was laid down and restricted with various weights. Obscuring his sight were the fallen bamboo leaves and vines that were crawling along his face. He sat up, accidentally startling a horde of small critters and their luminescent tails that were hidden against him. Snakes, mice, small owls, a fox and a few other critters all dashed away from their slumbering spots against his sides, hiding behind other bamboo and foliage.

Broken vines and dirt trailed from his body as he sat up, wiping them away as best he could. The dizziness was hard to overcome, so it took a solid minute before Minseok was comprehending his surroundings. Not to mention, there was a constant voice humming so mournfully in his head.

He rubbed his temple for a moment before speaking aloud, “Kim.. Jongdae?”

There was no response, the voice kept singing.

Minseok took a moment before calling out again, this time using the depth of his mind and the renewed cultivation base his form had.

“Kim Jongdae, can you hear me?”

The singing voice silenced, but with a trembling breath, said, “Y-You’re…”

“Yes, I’m here,” Minseok finished for him, knowing very well that Jongdae was probably having a difficult time comprehending this.

It was a long while before Jongdae said anything else.

“…Are.. Are you alright?”

“I think so.. I feel… very refreshed, and whole. My soul was able to find itself here. How are you? Have you slept? Or been able to meditate?”

“…Enough.”

Minseok grimaced.  _ “’Enough’ _ isn’t good enough. You need to rest more before you reach the capital.”

Jongdae breathed out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding in. “W-We… we’ve been in the capital for almost a week, now.”

Minseok was taken aback.

A week? That  _ long? _ It took a week for his soul to awaken whole in this place? Then another thought tickled the back of his head—had Jongdae been singing all this time?

“Is everything okay? How is everyone faring?!”

“We’re all under confinement. The Lanling Jin cultivators are on lockdown and the sect heads are enclosed in Injeongjeon Hall of the Royal estate. That’s including Sect Leader Jung Yunho, Young Master Jung and my mother and sister… Baekho Ridge Sect has taken the King as a hostage, and Crown Prince Woosung is missing. But…”

“But… what?” Minseok questioned slowly.

“But.. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep your body. Th-They.. They took it. I have no idea of where they have you.” Jongdae’s voice trembled with apprehension, like he was on the verge of tears.

“That’s…” Minseok let out a breath, hardly able to understand how Jongdae was hung up over something like that. “That’s not even an important matter right now. Where are you? Are you with the Lanling Jin Sect?”

“No, I’ve been separated to my own cell under the palace. I refuse to work for Baekhyun.” Jongdae’s voice grew distant, Minseok could immediately tell he was hiding something.

“I can’t imagine he’s treating you very well, considering the last time you refused him… Do you know why he is doing this? Do you know if anyone’s been trying to free you or the sect leaders?”

“I have no contact with the outside world. I’ve just assumed both our sects are working together right now to figure something out. I’m sure Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin are working right now to free my mother and sister. All I know is that Baekhyun is looking for something. Nobody is allowed to leave the capital until it’s found. I suspect it has something to do with the Crown Prince.”

“Mmm,” Minseok agreed. “From what you say, it does sound like that… He doesn’t think you have it, does he?” he questioned with a careful voice.

“No, he just wants me to use my voice again.”

“…You’re not  _ actually _ hiding it, are you?”

With a light chuckle, he responded, “No.”

Minseok let out a breath that was held tight in his chest, if it could be called a breath in this form.

“…Kim Minseok,” Jongdae called in a quiet voice.

“Hmm?”

“…I just wanted to make sure it really was you,” Jongdae replied in a meek tone.

“Mmn, it’s me,” Minseok threw back with a warm voice.

“…But.. how?”

“We’re connected somehow. I told you, if you sing, I will come,” Minseok said firmly. “A piece of you must be with me because of it. Are you in pain? Are you hurting anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“That’s the truth? Every time I come here I feel an indiscernible excruciating pain. The last thing I want is for you to experience that.”

Jongdae sucked in sharp breath of air and said, “Really, I am fine. But more importantly, where are you? Did you make it to that place?”

“Yes, I did. And don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to change the subject.” Minseok grimaced. “I woke up surrounded by foliage and the weird animals of this place, like someone stuck me here, tucked away and hidden.” Minseok took another look at his surroundings, but Jongdae was looming in the back of his head and he couldn’t think straight. “Are you really okay?”

“If I told you I was, you still wouldn’t believe me.”

“Of course not! You’ve given me no reason to in the last month. This just confirms that you haven’t rested! If it’s not me on my deathbed, it’s you. Why are you like this, why are you so stubborn? If I ever get out of here, I will personally come to forcibly keep you in bed. Jinju Peony motto or not, you need rest!” Minseok’s voice gradually rose with his frustration.

Jongdae chuckled lightly. “I see that you must be feeling better if you have the energy to get so upset with me.”

“Don’t laugh at that! I have every reason to be upset!”

Jongdae let out an even louder chuckle this time, letting out more vocals. Minseok’s heart ran aflutter and his face felt warm with how wonderful it sounded to his ears.

“I must have missed this Kim Minseok, it’s been a while since you’ve snapped at me with so much vigor.”

Minseok’s head tilted downward with a slight pout, Jongdae was teasing him but he couldn’t even be that angry. He could just see the toothy smile that might curve along those delicate lips.

With a heavy sigh, Minseok said, “Fine. But next time, I will personally come to haunt you if you don’t rest more.”

“But how can I rest if I’m being haunted? I’d be too frightened to fall asleep,” Jongdae teased even further.

Minseok took a moment to find a good comeback, but all he settled with was, “Shut up!”

Jongdae chuckled but quieted after that.

Minseok took that as an opportunity to start his search. He looked for his sword but found his waist empty and nothing to be found by his side. That was mildly concerning. He stood up, dressed in his dark pink robes and brushed them off one more time; a few small blue-tailed mice scurried out of the hems of his sleeves as he did so. He watched them disappear into the shade of the thick bamboo forest around him and couldn’t help but notice how dark everything was. Many small bamboo stalks were crumpled over and cracked. Only tall and thick ones were still standing sparsely.

Bushes and trees mixed among the bamboo were of similar nature, messy and broken. The sky above was a dark red-gray, like an angry, overcast foreshadowing of something devastating to come. This place did not look like the serene and beautiful landscape he knew before. With a curious step, he walked for what he thought was the forest line. What he was greeted with was a giant boulder jutting out of the ground. It was too high up to see what shape it made, but the sides were soaked and dripping as if a steady stream of water was trickling down the sides.

Finding a dry spot, Minseok quickly and easily climbed the tall side of this boulder. It looked nearly impossible to go around the boulder, as it stretched far to the sides and it was an open question as to how long it would take to go around it. Instead, he jumped and swung his body from small holds in the rock to larger landings. 

What he thought was the top only greeted him with more bamboo forests that looked desecrated. Not too far from his feet was the indentation of a small creek that had been nearly dried up. With a questioning glance, Minseok followed the creek down, noticing how the boulder had sloped down slightly. He traveled down the length of the forest for a short time, watching how many of the small animals weaved in and out of the broken trees and bamboo staves. They were all not-so-secretly following him around.

When Minseok reached the bottom, what greeted him was something rather… devastating.

The end of the rock clearly led back down to the original land he was on—he had just scaled a floating island that had crashed into another. As Minseok stepped out and onto the ledge of the island, he saw too few other islands floating about. They were all small and barely habitable. What few remained were colliding with one another like bowling balls. Pieces of land crumbled away and fell like nothing with each collision. Minseok made sure to look above his head and below, but each direction proved to contain nothing much. What big floating islands that still remained were decimated with other larger floating islands, broken to pieces or fused like the one he stood on. Only a scant few of the white crane birds that once littered the islands struggled to find their way through the chaos. This was not the heavenly place that Minseok had first arrived to. This was more of the crumbling aftermath of war and trauma.

“Kim Jongdae,” Minseok spoke through their mental connection.

“Yes?” Jongdae replied in an easy tone.

“Something’s wrong here.”

“…How so?” Jongdae chose his tone carefully, making sure to keep it even. He didn’t want to seem too concerned.

“Everything.. looks like it’s dying off. This place used to be beautiful,” Minseok finished breathlessly.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, growing more and more violent after each wave.

As he looked out, he watched a few of the smaller islands drop suddenly. No warning and no delay, just a simple drop.

Sensing danger on its way, Minseok looked up and found another island speeding its way down to crush him. There was no way to dodge it while still being on his current island. So, without much thought, he dashed forward and plunged headfirst off the side of the cliff.

It was difficult to see anything through the clouds. He had to rely heavily on his senses to let him know that something was coming up.

A tree branch, jutting out like an awkward thumb came into view and Minseok grabbed onto it for dear life. The branch cracked and snapped, ripping in half and swinging Minseok nearly one hundred and eighty degrees. Thankfully, his body was agile enough to respond in sync with his mind. Like an invigorated cat, he swung with the broken branch and landed cleanly on the ground of the new island. Dust flew about and further clouded the already heavily fogged-over landscape. Had it not been for the violent tremors, Minseok would have never realized what tree was beside him. He lost his footing and held onto the side, waiting for the earthquake to stop rumbling.

“The islands are falling, forests are breaking, the animals all seem to scurry about and are trying to flee. I don’t under—” Minseok was relaying his thoughts to Jongdae when he stopped before the base of the tree and finally recognized it.

This was the crooked tree that jutted out of the side of the cliff.

“Kim Minseok…?” Jongdae asked for him, hoping he would answer him before he called out again. “Is everything all right?”

“…Yes… I just, I know this place.”

“What is it?” Jongdae asked with an easy tone.

“We met Bei Xiong here…” Minseok stepped toward the tree, noticing how dull the bark was. Most of the base was uprooted, causing the tree to tilt even more harshly off the edge of the island.

“The wolverine shapeshifter?” Jongdae inquired.

“Mmm.” He nodded as he rested a hand on one of the roots. He felt a presence about the tangle of roots but couldn’t quite figure it out.

Suddenly, a familiar mouse popped out in front of him. Its small round body and the tail that wrapped around the branch glimmered in a very dim blue fire. It appeared after climbing one of the roots that rose to Minseok’s eye height. They stared at one another for a moment before something clicked in Minseok’s head.

“You!” It was the mouse that Lu Han had set up a dinner of charred bamboo shoots for! Once the realization was settled in, the mouse scurried down the root further towards the base.

“What is it?” Jongdae asked as he could still hear Minseok.

“The mouse! Lu Han asked this field mouse for information a while back. It seems like he wants me to go into the tree.”

“Be careful,” Jongdae said hastily, knowing Minseok would go whether he wished it or not.

“I will,” he replied mindlessly, his thoughts wandering towards the mouse and where it was going.

The roots were thick and sturdy and especially hard to maneuver, considering his size. But as he neared the base, he could feel the faint trace of spiritual energy growing larger. In an excited voice he called out to Jongdae, “Someone’s here!”

He rushed toward a particular bundle of roots. Through the cracks he could make out a very familiar face. It was Lu Han, encased in the bundle of roots, tucked away and protected by the tree.

“Lu Han!” Minseok exclaimed as he tried to pull at the roots. He was deep within them, and without a proper weapon to help him, it would take hours before he could get to Lu Han.

When he did manage to rip a root away, it would grow back relentlessly fast—there was spiritual energy flowing throughout these roots, and it was preventing him from getting to Lu Han.

Before he could take a moment to think about how to get through the roots, a large hand grabbed his topknot and yanked him violently backwards. His body went flying, nearly crashing into the decimated bamboo forest.

“Huh, you’re still alive,” a low voice resonated as Minseok steadied his feet from the landing.

“Bei Xiong?” Minseok tilted his head.

Bei Xiong looked like a walking stick. Of course he was still tall and his broad shoulders made him loom overmuch. But he wasn’t nearly as built as he was the last time they were together. His cheeks were hollower, and his muscle mass seemed significantly less.

“What happened to you?” was all Minseok could ask.

“Too much. What are you doing back? Your spirit was supposed to be called back long ago. Lu Han did everything he could to make sure you’d get back to where you belong.”

“I guess it didn’t work. The piece of my soul still in the mortal realm was too weak to sustain a proper life for me, so I ended up here, finally.” Minseok spoke carefully, making sure that nothing would piss Bei Xiong off. He may have looked weak, but the spiritual energy radiating off of him was no joke.

“That’s unfortunate. But also unfortunate that you had to come back here. Now, leave us,” Bei Xiong seethed.

“I made Lu Han a promise, and I intend to keep it. Are you the one who put him in there?”

“Yes, it’s to protect him from Jung Kai. But if you are here to remove him, then I’ll have to remove you first.”

Minseok almost missed what he meant by that and barely dodged the attack Bei Xiong suddenly laid on him.

“I’m not your enemy!” Minseok yelled as he jumped backwards and out of the way.

Bei Xiong gave no response and simply continued with his advances, slashing with large claws.

Bamboo stalks were sliced like thin pieces of paper and the roots of the pine tree splintered into hundreds of pieces.

“Stop and just listen!” Minseok desperately pleaded.

“Is everything okay…?” Jongdae’s soft voice resonated inside his heart.

“Not really! Bei Xiong won’t let me near Lu Han!”

“..I heard your cries for someone to stop, is he attacking you?”

Jongdae could hear him? Was he subconsciously calling out to him, then?

Before he could say anything more, a weak voice came from the cluster of roots by the pine tree.

“Kim Minseok?”

Both Bei Xiong and Minseok froze and looked over at the casing of roots.

“…Is that you?” the voice came again.

Minseok dashed through the roots and met Lu Han just outside of his cocoon. “Are you all right? How are you feeling?”

“…Terrible..” Lu Han shivered as he whispered.

In another second, Bei Xiong came thrashing to land a blow on Minseok. He was able to dodge skillfully, but Bei Xiong’s force left the roots in even more disarray around Lu Han.

_ “I am not your enemy!” _ Minseok screamed with fiery red cheeks. He was finally starting to feel the irritation of Bei Xiong’s temperament.

It was a cat and mouse chase for too long of a time; Minseok was never able to get in a hit and without his sword or bow, he was at a great disadvantage. Bei Xiong was relentless, attack after attack despite the sweat that beaded over his forehead and the fatigue that played on his limbs.

If this was the game Bei Xiong would play, so would Minseok. He let himself be chased, hoping to tire out that brute of a person. He was probably too weak to use his beast form and could only stay as a human, which gave Minseok a slight advantage. Bei Xiong was large and domineering in stature compared to himself, and as Bei Xiong grew more tired, he was more likely to barrel through the forest.

Minseok set it up just right so that the dispersed pine trees and bamboo were aligned carefully on top of one another. With one last blow from Bei Xiong’s hand he would trigger the mess above his head to come crashing down, hopefully stunning him for a few minutes. It was a very successful attempt. Bei Xiong was crushed by the debris of the forest, not killed, but incapacitated.

Without a second’s thought, Minseok left Bei Xiong at the edge of the forest and headed straight for Lu Han. He pulled away and chucked the awful pieces of pine root, and even the small critters offered help by digging and chewing the wood.

The moment he could see the cocoon, Lu Han spoke in a weak voice, “I’m so sorry about him.”

“It’s nothing. Do you want to get out?”

“…I don’t know.”

Minseok furrowed his thick brows in annoyance and swallowed every part of his being to not release a scoff.

Instead, he threw the piece of bark in his hands and sat himself firmly in front of Lu Han’s cocoon. “Then can you tell me what’s going on? Bei Xiong has no intention to fill me in.”

There was a moment of silence before Lu Han found the courage to speak up again.

“…After you left, the fighting went on with the rest of us. Some of my memories slipped in and my head… It has been in a constant state of agony since then. Bei Xiong was able to get us away and injure Jung Kai to keep him away. Zitao took the remains of your soul and left with us. I hid you away, so that no one would find you and use the last bit of your soul. I asked the fauna to help keep you hidden—they did a very good job of that.” Minseok heard the slight raise in Lu Han’s voice, like he was genuinely happy about that.

“But my memory, bits and pieces slip through and it takes a toll on me. On this place.  _ Everything _ . Everything here is… This place isn’t real. It’s like it’s somehow a part of me. But every time I try remembering something from my past, it just hurts.. There’s so much pain and everything starts to tremble…”

“And that’s why I locked him in here.” Bei Xiong’s voice suddenly appeared beside Minseok.

Minseok gasped and almost went to move away, but Bei Xiong’s lack of threatening aura made him stop.

“To protect him from everything else here.”

Minseok stared between the two for a moment before speaking carefully. “…and how long do you think you can keep him hidden here? It’ll only be a matter of time before the islands all fall and Jung Kai discovers you. You’re just postponing a fated meeting.”

“Insolent little—”

“He’s right.” Lu Han spoke with a firmness to his voice, stopping Bei Xiong before he could react in some way.

Bei Xiong quickly backed off and looked almost as if he were ashamed.

“Maybe… it’s about time I had some fresh air, do you mind letting me go?”

It took a while before the vines all crawled away and the spiritual essence that Bei Xiong had been pouring into the tree slowly dissipated as Lu Han sat up.

“I am quite sick of not knowing what’s going on.”

Minseok could see how frail Lu Han was as well. Most of the injuries he had taken had not healed over and the dried blood on his dark robes only made them seem shabbier.

With great difficulty, Lu Han emerged from the overgrowth and straightened his back to the best of his ability. His eyes squinted even though the light was far dimmer than it had been, practically nighttime.

“You’ve made a promise to me.” Lu Han smiled something sweet at Minseok, his soft lips pale but nonetheless kind. “I think you should honor that.”

Minseok stood to his feet and nodded.

“You’re in no condition to do anything.” Bei Xiong’s deep voice seemed like it was trying to plead. “And I am in no position to protect you.”

“Then stay here, Bei Xiong. I won’t ask you to join us.” Lu Han took a few steps out of the crumbling roots and onto the turf, where dirt and grass sprawled in every which way from the fight.

“How can you—!”

“You’ve suffered far too much because of me. I think it’s time you took a rest.” Lu Han offered a meek smile as he placed a comforting hand on Bei Xiong’s shoulder.

There was a moment before Bei Xiong’s temper resolved and he nodded his head. “I will follow you anywhere.”

Lu Han could only solemnly smile and accept, as he knew there was no stopping him.

Minseok’s gaze fell to the ground and his mind immediately flooded to a certain man on the other side. One he owed his everything to and one he would spend the rest of his life repaying for all the suffering he caused. Minseok was well aware he was not responsible for Jongdae’s actions or thoughts, but his heart strangled with guilt and drowned in misery at the thought of him silently suffering.

“Are you okay?” Jongdae’s voice suddenly manifested in him again.

“Huh..?” he said aloud.

Both Lu Han and Bei Xiong looked at him with questioning brows.

“I heard you calling for me again,” Jongdae replied.

“But I.. didn’t..” It must be a deeper level than just wanting to speak to one another. Any kind of yearning it seemed Kim Jongdae could hear.

“All right,” Jongdae said in an even tone again, not being bothered in the slightest.

“Sorry,” Minseok spoke vocally to the two in front of him. Lu Han turned to Minseok and trotted on over with a light skip to his step, seeming genuinely happy to see him.

“You look healthy. Livelier, even.”

Minseok snorted. He was very much dead.

“And you’re one and whole. I can sense there is no more torment splitting you in two. That’s good.” Lu Han’s eyes softened, and his lips beamed. “And it would appear there is another attached to you. There is a soul partially entangled in yours.”

Minseok’s face scrunched in confusion.

“Is it the one who so desperately clung to you? The one who loves you more than anything in this world?”

Minseok stepped back, his face blank with shock and yet his cheeks were quick to feel warm. “S-Something like that.”

“And you don’t deny this love?” Lu Han’s smile widened, his eyes wrinkling with the bliss twinkling in them. He was obviously happy for Minseok.

“I don’t see how this pertains to anything right now!” Minseok shouted as he stepped away, blundering to keep his face angled away from the two.

Lu Han giggled. “I may not remember who my love was, but I remember those feelings. Both bitter and sweet. Nothing will ever compare to it in this lifetime.”

“…My life is over. I don’t get to have one in this life.” Minseok whispered to himself.

“Not yet, it’s not. You haven’t gone completely astray. And for someone to still cling to you even in a time like this, I don’t think you’re escaping from it for a very long time, my friend.”

Minseok refused to look up. He ignored the way his body surged with emotions and the way he could swear he felt his heart pounding against his chest.

Even if it’s just a for a little while longer, Minseok hoped dearly that Jongdae would stay with him until the very end.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

⪡ ≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“Down below, there is a hall filled with captured souls. I can fly the both of you down—now that you’re whole, you won’t be in pain. Jung Kai will likely have upped the security, so we’ll have to be careful.”

“There’s a possibility of other demons?” Minseok questioned with light strain to his voice, he was currently bending a rod of bamboo into the shape of a longbow. 

“Yes. I don’t imagine Jung Kai is working particularly with humans here. Other than myself, if I can still be considered that…” Lu Han chuckled to himself but cleared his throat when no one else responded. “Our goal, once we’re inside, is to get to the room behind the main hall. Spirits go in and never return. I’ve never been inside because it’s always been off limits. I imagine there’s something they’re hiding in there.”

“Do you think that it will help us destroy whatever this world is?”

Lu Han’s face went solemn. “…No. That will be my doing. I believe… I believe I have control over this world somehow. But before I can do anything with it, we need to get everyone, including yourself, out. I think that Jung Kai is the one who has my memories blocked and my powers sealed away. If we can release my powers, there might be a way to destroy this world. Right now, I’m still very weak from the last fight and my head often throbs when memories try to surface. This will not be an easy task for us. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Minseok huffed a confident breath of air as he lifted his newly made longbow of bamboo wood and the branch fibers of a dead bush. “There’s only been one thing in my life that I’ve been unsure about. And this isn’t it.” He slung his newly-made bow on his shoulder and tied his few arrows to his waist. “Let’s go.”

Together they stood tall and nodded.

Lu Han took a few steps back before his body changed into that giant owl. Light brown and white spotted feathers stretched out like freshly washed quilts ready to lay out and dry. Fierce claws bore the same shackles as his human legs and Minseok couldn’t help but make a mental note to find a way to remove them from Lu Han.

Both wind and dirt kicked up as Lu Han took off, like raging gusts of hurricane winds. Each flap of his wings was strong, lifting him higher and higher until he disappeared into the dark clouds of the skies.

Both Minseok and Bei Xiong ran for the ledge of the island and jumped off the side. They fell fast through the clouds, not even worrying about seeing ahead of them. Almost as soon as they dropped, Lu Han trailed around and skillfully scooped them up in his massive talons.

No one said a word, silent as the night as they headed down. They dropped for quite some time, and Minseok started to think they had passed the barrier with no problem. He couldn’t help but remember the agonizing burning he’d felt the last time he did this.

Even if he was whole and could pass unscathed, that was not the case for everyone.

In his head a voice screamed, shrill and unnerving. It shook him to his core with that sinking feeling of dread.

The voice belonged to Jongdae.

_ “Kim Jongdae!” _ Minseok screamed aloud, startling both Bei Xiong and Lu Han. “What’s happening?!” He spoke rapidly, in a panic, hoping someone would answer him.

Through the muffled sobs and screams all he could make out were the rough words of, “It burns!”

Minseok sucked in a sharp breath of air and frantically yelled, “Take me up! Take me back up!”

“Do you or do you not want to do this—” Bei Xiong tried intervening but Minseok was quick to cut him off.

“He’s suffering! The barrier is hurting him, please take me back up!” Minseok desperately pleaded as he pounded on Lu Han’s talons.

Lu Han complied with a low gruff noise and quickly spread his wings to raise them out of the barrier.

It was a good while before Lu Han placed them on an island just outside of the barrier and the screams in Minseok’s head finally subsided to heavy pants. Eventually, there was no sound at all and silence took over.

Minseok sat on the ground with his head between his arms, hands covering his ears, trying to get the echoing sound of Jongdae’s agonized cries out of his head.

Bei Xiong and Lu Han stood over him, watching as he sat on the ground, trying to cope with whatever was happening.

Finally, Minseok raised his head with red and almost tear stained eyes. “I… can’t get in contact with him. I can’t get him to let go of our connection,” he said in a shaken voice.

Bei Xiong glanced at Lu Han, who was still in his owl form, then walked over to Minseok. He crouched down and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Then we will come for you when we have taken down the barrier.”

“What?!” Minseok snapped at them. “You barely have enough spiritual energy to transform into your animal form and Lu Han isn’t stable enough to get through this, you need my help!”

“And we can’t delay this any longer. Stay here, out of sight. We will be back.” Bei Xiong left with Lu Han, one taking off and the other jumping over the edge of the island once more.

Minseok scrambled after them, calling out for them to come back, but of course they did not.

The air was much thicker down here; the demonic energy radiating from beyond the barrier was brooding and almost suffocating. This island, being so close to the barrier, was crowded around by other small islands and the larger ones above swung ominously by. The island was quite small—it may have once been a piece of a larger one, but now it was small enough for a person to reach the other side in just a few steps. A small creek ran through its middle and dropped off the edge. Where the water even came from was a mystery, as there were only a few shoots of bamboo.

Minseok sat back down by the creek and rinsed his face with the surprisingly lukewarm water. He stayed there for quite a while, fashioning a few more arrows with the bamboo there and meditating. He had no idea how much time had passed, but no matter what, Jongdae never responded to his calls. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at least he's still alive! in his own way..


	20. 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: body horror, violence, gore, angst, mentioned torture  
> also this chapter is pretty long

To say that Minseok was worried was quite the understatement. He spent each of his thoughts wanting to talk to Jongdae, hoping that something would reach him and he would finally respond.

It wasn’t too long after, when Minseok heard the soft and very, very whispered voice in his head, that he froze.

“…Keep singing,” Jongdae’s voice said meekly. “I like to hear your voice.”

Minseok was so stunned that he hadn’t even realized he was singing the song Jongdae often sang to himself.

There was a moment before Minseok finally complied, instead of asking the hundreds of questions he wanted to.

On the other end, Jongdae mostly listened, only humming to harmonize his voice beautifully against Minseok’s.

“ _I will throw away my immature, petty pride_ _  
_ _And fill that space with words_ _  
_ _Of love I was too awkward to say._ _  
_ _The long night melts away any hatred we had._  
_Isn’t that enough?_ _  
_ Let me stay by your side…”

With a shaking breath, Minseok let out, “I’ve been so worried.”

“I’m here.”

“Are you okay?”

“Better.”

Minseok bit his lip, knowing damn well Jongdae was glossing things over. “What happened?”

Jongdae’s voice was still small, but it was close to him. It almost reminded him of the mornings he would wake up next to the cultivator. “…There was a burning feeling inside of me. I thought I could withstand it, but it only grew stronger and eventually consumed my body… it felt like.. I was—”

“—being split in two,” Minseok added and they spoke at the same time.

“You know what it was..?” Jongdae questioned.

Minseok sighed with a heavy heart, “I do.. The barrier I spoke to you of prevents any living creature from passing through. Last time I was here, my soul was split. Part of it was still in the mortal realm trying to live while the rest was here. Because of that, the barrier deemed me to be living and began to attack my body. It’s an indescribable kind of pain.. I didn’t think that you would be affected. I’m so sorry.”

“No need for apologies. Getting to hear you sing was plenty for me.”

Minseok could hear the light smile in Jongdae’s voice.

“Besides…” Jongdae’s voice was low again. “It’s only fair…”

“What are you talking about?”

Jongdae was silent.

“Kim Jongdae.” Minseok’s voice was firm when he called out to him.

“…The last day we had together… During the Mountain Guardian Trial—”

“I thought we agreed to not bring that up ever again.,” Minseok cut him off quickly, his face falling to a frown.

“…I never agreed to that.”

Minseok clenched his jaw in spite. “Urgh.. Another time. We can’t talk about this right now.”

There was a good moment of silence before Jongdae spoke again. “…Baekhyun was not happy. He was in the middle of interrogating me. I passed out before anyone could figure out what was wrong.”

“Interrogating?!” Minseok exclaimed. “For what?!”

“About what I knew, where your soul was, and if I was hiding anything.”

“Is this a recurring thing?”

Jongdae was silent.

Minseok sighed. “How long have you been out?”

“I’ve been told it was only a day.”

“Well.. That’s not terrible. Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet, the Baekho cultivators watching over me left just a moment ago to get me a bowl congee.”

Minseok bit his lip again, feeling it going raw with how much he had been nervously chewing it. “Okay, well, are you comfortable? Are you laying down right now?”

Jongdae chuckled again. “You almost sound worried.”

“I _am_ worried. I meant it when I said I was.” Minseok spoke quite firmly. He was slightly offended by Jongdae’s disbelief.

It was a good moment before Jongdae replied to him again, “…I’m.. As comfortable as I can be.”

Minseok frowned at that. “If no one rescues you from there in a timely fashion, I promise I will come for you.”

“..Promise?” Jongdae questioned in a light voice. “Do you promise to come back to me alive?”

“I’ll do everything I can to come back to you. You won’t have to be tired anymore, you won’t have to expend all this energy on me.”

Minseok would never see the bright, toothy and lazy smile that danced on Jongdae’s delicate face. “…Then, I’ll be waiting for you.”

In his heart, Minseok felt all kinds of warmth from those simple words. His head felt light, like he was getting way too ahead of himself.

“…Kim Minseok,” Jongdae called out to him. “I’m tired…”

“Rest, just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“No.. I will meditate. I don’t want to lose the connection with you.”

Minseok felt his shoulders sink with disappointment.

“But..” Jongdae continued, “hurry up. I can only hold on for so much longer.”

“I won’t make you wait any longer than I have to. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Mn.” Jongdae offered an exhausted confirmation.

Minseok felt nervousness swell up in his body once Jongdae’s voice went silent. He just wanted to keep hearing his voice even though he knew Jongdae needed rest more than anything. Not being there, by his side and helping him out was driving him insane. There were very few times in Minseok’s life when he felt useless, and of those times, most had to do with Kim Jongdae. It angered him that no one had rescued him yet, and it angered him even more that he couldn’t be there to do anything, either. And in that anger, it angered him even more that he was angry over this! It was a cycle of repeating emotions and feeling this way made him want to just punch something.

Not too much later, a gust of wind brushed over his body and the silent flaps of Lu Han’s wings caught him off guard. He had been curled up with his head resting on his knees, waiting patiently, yet anxiously for any kind of sign.

Minseok’s head shot up and he quickly scrambled to his feet.

“Did it work?”

The owl nodded.

“Is Bei Xiong still down there?”

Lu Han nodded once more, this time lifting a wing to beckon Minseok to follow him. Under his wing, Minseok could see splotches of blood that adorned his feathers.

“You’re hurt!”

Lu Han did not acknowledge that and simply turned on his talons, spread his wings and hovered just over the ledge of the island. A single foot hung down and Minseok took that as his sign to latch on. With an easy jump, Minseok grabbed onto the foot and the two whisked away toward the ground.

“Kim Jongdae,” Minseok called out in their minds. “The barrier should have been broken, but if you feel anything, tell me immediately.”

There was no response from Jongdae’s end. Minseok only hoped that his message was heard and Jongdae was just focused on meditating.

The two reached the bottom with little resistance. It was as dark as a moonless night, only stray lights of blue firelight lit up a path that led up a few sets of stairs. A heavy fog that acted like a thick miasma of demonic energy swirled all about them, suffocating all who breathed the air.

Only a few dead bodies littered the ground, but Lu Han’s form walked over them like nothing before he transformed back into a human state.

“Come on, this way.” He beckoned Minseok to follow. 

Minseok complied and readied his bow in hand. “Are you okay to keep going? We can wrap your arm first.”

Lu Han shook his head as he ran up the stairs. “Thank you, but Bei Xiong is my first priority. I left him with a hefty number of adversaries. This way!”

Minseok followed without another word and watched as Lu Han held onto his arm up the stairs, droplets of blood following him as they did so. As they ran, Minseok could smell faint traces of sandalwood on the air, barely noticeable to the point he wondered if he was imagining it.

The fog made it difficult to see what lay at the top. Even the braziers of blue fire were of little use until they reached the wooden doors of what looked to be an extravagant temple. It was painted with a vibrant red and trimmed in gold. Two statues of stone lions painted in red and gold sat at the very top of the stairs, acting as the guardians of this supposed temple. It was magnificent to the eye, clearly of the architecture of the cultivators from across the borders. 

The doors were splintered and cracked open, blood splattered dark against the red walls. Lu Han and Minseok slipped over the threshold and into the courtyard. There, Bei Xiong stood tall as a wolverine, battling against something just as tall and ferocious.

In the center of the yard was an oversized, broken statue of a pagoda, shattered into thousands of stone pieces. It was what was generating the barrier above this place. Around the base were a few bodies of bestial demons, ones similar to the one engaged in combat with Bei Xiong. Tails of serpents or arms of tentacles and claws were over-extended from the bodies. It would have been terrifying to any mortal eye. A few specters of ghosts glinted across the courtyard, frantically going back and forth without understanding what was going on—it looked like a farm of headless chickens running around while a coyote and wolf battled to see who would get the stock. 

“What are all these spirits?” Minseok questioned as he raised his bow, ready to loose an arrow on Bei Xiong’s attacker.

“There used to be a heavy incense of sandalwood burned to calm the minds of the spirits. But because we destroyed the barrier, the fumes escaped, and the burner was destroyed.” Lu Han pointed to the broken statue pagoda. “Now the spirits have gotten out of line and have been running about. They’ve been lied to since they got here and can barely comprehend what’s happened to them since they’ve died. I need to round as many as I can up so that they do not suffer anymore. You go and help Bei Xiong!”

Minseok nodded firmly and ran over to where Bei Xiong was. A few small creatures came running over the roof of the main hall, running on four legs like little lizards, complete with scales and tails. Minseok’s arrows were not very thick or the strongest, but they were enough to take out these little vermin before they could interfere with Bei Xiong.

Each mark hit them square in the forehead, perfectly symmetrical between the eyes. None were able to pass a certain point, lest they be shot down. Minseok dared not interfere with the fight Bei Xiong was handling, he could only help in this small manner.

Right before the demon broke its footing, Bei Xiong was able to take it down with one amazing strike of his paw. Decapitated, the demon laid on the ground unmoving.

Bei Xiong’s terrorizing form shook with fatigue as he stood over the body. His eyes watched closely over Lu Han, who darted around after the lost spirits. But just as Minseok went to go ask if Bei Xiong was injured, another one of those small creatures launched up from behind the wolverine with bared razor-sharp teeth. Without even thinking, Minseok raised his bow and shot the creature down with swift, careful movements.

Bei Xiong was surprised, having not realized that there was anything behind him in that moment. Minseok smirked, knowing that he had done a rather clean kill.

Lu Han jogged over with a small and rather ugly-looking bag in his hand. It was a makeshift spirit trapping pouch, filled with the lost souls in the courtyard. “Okay, that should be the last of them. Let’s go inside—”

Before Lu Han could finish, the door that led into the main hall began to pound with something of immense size. The doors vibrated with each heavy knock, looking as if they would shatter to pieces at any moment. Minseok took a step forward to shield Lu Han and almost made his way to stand in front of Bei Xiong, but the door broke into several jagged pieces. A hole between the double doors opened up and revealed a pitch black crevice. A great deal of chimera-looking monsters came scuttling out. Minseok wasted not a second to shoot them down. But there were just too many for one person and he only had so many arrows to spare and reuse.

Bei Xiong made quick work of the small critters, bulldozing through their lines like nothing.

From the other side of the doors, the three of them could hear a heinous laugh echoing into the courtyard. Two bare feet emerged from the hole in the door, followed by the rest of a beast of immense size with elements of horror strewn about its body.

After it had ceased laughing, it tutted its way down the stairs. “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” it repeated menacingly as another wave of the chimera beasts scuttled into the courtyard. “You’ve tested my patience for the last time, Lu Han.”

The freakish imp creatures all surrounded Bei Xiong and Minseok, making sure to keep their attention drawn away from Lu Han.

“Master says not to harm you, but I can think of a few ways to keep you in one place for a long period of time without killing you. What do you think about that? Lu Han?” He laughed to himself. “Daozhang, or should I say, Yanlin DaoRen… Such a shame. Such an esteemed disciple of the legendary BaoShen SanRan.”

Lu Han dropped to his knees and held his head, screaming as painful memories flooded back in. The ground beneath everyone’s feet began to tremble like the many times before.

“The Heavens chose well to want you. But what a shame that on the day of your ascension, you came across my master. It’s too bad the Heavens couldn’t save you from his interference that drove you mad and forced you to slaughter the hundreds of innocents around. Hahaha!” Each step that he took was like tar, slow and infuriating to both Minseok and Bei Xiong as they tried to get over to Lu Han.

The memories of blood, images of terrified children and petrified, helpless parents before their brutal slaughtering all swarmed Lu Han’s memory. The invasion of his mind and body, being completely taken over by the demonic powers of an unknown entity. It was a bottomless kind of horror that swelled in him and drove him mad.

“My master was new to his powers then and thought it would be fun to harvest more power for himself by consuming the souls of the horrified living. And what better way to play around by making an unsuspecting ascending Daozhang do the dirty work? Not even your trusted spiritual animal could be spared from your wrath. It worked! It really did for a time, you slaughtered _at least_ hundreds, maybe thousands.” A sickening laugh gurgled in the base of the monster’s throat. “But those vile cultivators of the time all interfered and struck you down. Pierced from every angle possible with their hundreds of swords, just to keep you from moving.”

“You’re lying! _These aren’t my memories!_ They can’t be!” Lu Han bellowed over the pain and images surging through his mind, tears streaming down his red face.

The foe was Jung Kai in his unruly bestial form. He laughed even harder at Lu Han’s reaction. “Oh, please! You’ve cried day and night wondering who you were before being stuck here. Before understanding what this place even was and why you had to do the job you did. Be grateful my master even saved you from what could have been your very ugly demise!”

“So you used his powers to create this world after that…” Minseok muttered to himself as he pieced everything together.

Jung Kai snapped his attention to him.

“Yanlin DaoRen was known for his unparalleled skills. If he was good enough to be recognized for ascension, then he would have possessed an immense spiritual pool within. You exploited his powers to create this world, this realm outside of the three realms for him to help harvest souls.. If your master was so strong before, what could he possibly still need someone to gather him souls for?!” Minseok shouted as he kicked away the last imp that had been gnawing on his boot.

“Hmph. You’re not as stupid as you look.” Jung Kai spread what seemed to be arms and continued, “My master was unfortunately also stopped by the same cultivators who tried to destroy the Yanlin DaoRen. He was mortally wounded after a great fight, so we few, loyal to our master, rescued Yanlin DaoRen from his death and used him to create a separate space, one where no one would ever find us. One where we could harvest souls for our master to recuperate in peace.” He pointed an accusing finger at Lu Han who was still low to the ground, panting in agony. “But we had to wipe his memories clean.”

Lu Han interrupted with his denial. “No, it can’t be. I refuse to believe it.”

“Oh, please, do you really think that waking up with acupuncture needles was to _help_ wake you up? We used them to block any lingering memories that we couldn’t erase with the seal we had. So, we filled the empty spot with the only job we needed out of him. It was perfect for the last five hundred years. My master was doing quite well. But then a shrimp like you shows up.”

Any attention that had been drawn onto Lu Han was pulled away and focused on Minseok. “You insignificant little cretin from a filthy cultivation sect. You have no business here, with us, with any of this. You’ve not only stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong, but things on the surface have gone downhill.” Jung Kai’s pace slowly made way over to Minseok, who had raised his bow with three arrows drawn. “Allow me to do you the favor and permanently put you to rest.”

Out of the corner of Minseok’s eye, he saw a figure crawling around on the roof of the temple hall. A few of the imp creatures held Minseok’s legs down while he was distracted, two on each leg with a single imp in between. But Minseok recognized who had been crawling on the roof and felt no worry.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of doing as you wish.” Minseok faced his bow down towards his legs and loosed the arrows, duly striking five imps in the head with just three arrows. 

Jung Kai thought nothing of it and simply charged for Minseok, but Minseok dodged backwards and watched as the figure on top of the roof flitted down on top of Jung Kai. There was a short scuffle, a knife rammed into Jung Kai’s side, and a scream of pain. Minseok took that as his opportunity to shoot the hideous creature straight in the eye.

 _“Zitao! How dare you defy me?!”_ Jung Kai bellowed in a low and angry voice. One of his eyes was completely splattered in blood while his side gushed with the open knife wound.

Zitao did not respond and simply landed beside Minseok, his curly ponytail swaying about recklessly as he did so.

Minseok looked Zitao up and down in mild surprise. “So, you really are on our side.”

Zitao did not respond and simply side-eyed Minseok.

“He’s not. He’s only on _his_ side.” Bei Xiong appeared beside them, still clad in his wolverine form. “He has only ever been on _Lu Han’s_ side. There’s a reason why people have always been so attracted to Yanlin DaoRen, that being his kind heart. Even demons like Zitao can be swayed. I asked him to watch over Lu Han while I was banished to my island.” A form of grief was built up in Bei Xiong’s voice, like a long-instilled regret that he never had closure from.

Suddenly, Zitao held his arm up and presented a long sword with a golden and ruby-pink hilt.

“Gwangseon!” Minseok exclaimed and he took the sword in his hands. Immediately the surge of familiar energy of the sword filled his being. This was a feeling he had so missed in the mortal realm while he was still alive. “Where did you find it?” 

“Hid it.” Zitao said in a very soft, tofu-like voice. It was completely unexpected with how severe his face seemed.

“Ah,” Minseok nodded, “thanks.” He seemed disingenuous, but he really wasn’t. It was just that this interaction was a little... awkward.

Lu Han was on the other side of the raging Jung Kai, whose body was swaying back and forth with blood loss and pain. The three of them needed to get to Lu Han before something more drastic happened. However, Minseok now had his sword. Its spiritual energy was still intact, which meant he could take this Jung Kai on with little problem. But he was dealing with people he hardly knew, so it was best to not to take any risks that could lose a life.

“We need to draw Jung Kai’s attention back to me. I’ll distract him while you go for Lu Han, Zitao. Bei Xiong, go to the opposite side and help Zitao get Lu Han out of here.”

“What about you? You can’t just take him on,” Bei Xiong added as Zitao readied himself to move for Lu Han.

“Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll be just fine.” Minseok smirked as he fastened his sword on his hip and yanked the three arrows from the imps below him. “It’s been a little while since I’ve done anything, but my skills shouldn’t be rusty.” He arched his bow back with an arrow slung and raised his aim high into the sky before letting it loose. “I’d like to have some fun anyways.”

The arrow landed and nearly grazed Jung Kai’s nose before landing between his feet. His red eye snapped up toward the source and glinted with a fierce anger. Both Bei Xiong and Zitao had long since sprinted away to fetch Lu Han’s unmoving form.

The arrow exploded into hundreds of thin splinters, spraying Jung Kai’s body like the quills of a porcupine.

Jung Kai stepped back with a screech. He pulled out as many quills as he could and charged with all his might towards Minseok, howling at the top of his lungs and slamming down a massive black hand at him. It was a swift dodge for Minseok, but smooth enough for him to pull out his sword and give it a twirl before slicing it down at the hand. A ray of pink golden light burst as he blocked Jung Kai’s advances. The courtyard lit up with each blast, quickly blinding the imps as Bei Xiong bulldozed them out of the way.

Zitao had successfully taken Lu Han and run off in another direction, Minseok could only assume it was somewhere safe. Jung Kai was too fixated on Minseok to notice his prize had slipped out from under his nose.

However, as Bei Xiong went to follow Zitao, Jung Kai slammed into him and the two went stumbling into a plum blossom tree in the stone garden off to the side. A small building overseeing the stone garden, standing on low stilts, was then crashed into and caved in on itself with the massive force.

Minseok would have smirked in triumph at his ability to smash something as large as Jung Kai away, but he only worried that Bei Xiong was worse off. Quick on his feet, he rushed over to the collapsed building and began upturning all he could.

“Bei Xiong!” Minseok shouted over and over, not even seeing a sign of life from either being in the rubble.

“Kim Minseok! Move!” Bei Xiong’s muffled voice came from the side. He was trying to emerge from a heavy beam atop his back, but wasn’t fast enough to block the black hand that came roaring out from the wood pile.

A mass of demonic energy was welled up in the hand, but Minseok was too distracted to block it properly. Taking the full force, his body went flying backwards, smashing through the roof and walls of the main hall.

It took a second for Minseok to regain his bearings, groaning as he lifted the broken wood off of himself and wiping off the rubble.

As he did so, another body went flying through the walls and crash-landed not too far from him.

“Bei Xiong!” Minseok exclaimed as he scrambled over to the motionless body in the pile of rubble.

Minseok was able to push Bei Xiong over to check his vitals, discovering him to be just barely breathing and unconscious. His face was bloody, and much of his fur was matted with both fresh and dried blood. Any of the golden-white fur that he used to have was now dark and splotchy. Forming a seal with his two first fingers, he placed them on the top of Bei Xiong’s forehead to send him a bit of his own spiritual energy and hopefully wake him up. The demonic energy that Jung Kai used to attack Minseok was still surging in his body. It was vile, but he had to bear with it if he wanted to help Bei Xiong.

Gwangseon had gotten lost somewhere between flying over and the crash, and Minseok’s bow was completely shattered. He was defenseless right now, so he kept a sharp eye on his surroundings.

The hall was dimly lit with blue fire sconces, just like the ones outside. A heavy fog was low to the ground, moving slowly to fill corners and crevices. The walls of the room were white and the pillars that stood tall to the ceiling looked to be made of marble. The ceiling was the darkest of all, deep like burnt umber. It was a very delicate interior compared to the bright and wooden outside. At the end of the hall were two lines of people, or what seemed to be people, shackled and faced towards a door. It was a large double door, nearly as tall as the ceiling and sealed with two white jade dragon heads, both of which bore eyes that were red like blazing fires. The two pairs of eyes watched these lines of figures like hawks, making sure none stepped out of place or tried to escape.

The people in the lines were all manners of ghosts, vengeful spirits, newly deceased, wandering souls, and so on. They were of all shapes, genders and forms. Some decapitated, others limbless; some old and some as young as a toddler. One of Minseok’s first instincts was to go over and inspect this sight, but there was another looming problem. Jung Kai was still at large, and Bei Xiong was not responding. He had to hide the wolverine somewhere, but where could he possibly go?

As his eyes scanned the hall, they landed on something dark that poked out of the wisps of fog. It was quite the ways away from where they were, closer to the two lines of ghosts.

Before Minseok could think of anything else to do, the roof he had barreled through cracked and ripped open even further. Jung Kai forced his way inside and landed just next to them.

Minseok ran for the item in the fog, he only hoped that his hunch was correct. He was very satisfied to find it was. It was Jung Kai’s whip. Minseok remembered Lu Han talking about it and how he used to round the ghosts up. Once he picked it up, his spiritual energy flowed directly into it. It was wild and not an easy thing to wield, but Minseok fought against it and the demonic power that wanted to overcome him. There was no time to think or practice with it, so he dashed for Jung Kai and cracked the whip by the demon’s feet.

“You dare… use my own weapon… against _me_?” Jung Kai breathed after every few words.

The two practically danced around the hall, one attacking while the other dodged and vice versa. The walls cracked and marble chipped away with each strike.

Jung Kai was clearly weak. His body looked broken in more ways than one, yet he fought on relentlessly, screaming, baring teeth and moving just as fast as Minseok could.

Minseok cracked the whip and managed to wrap it around Jung Kai’s leg. It took a great deal of force, but Minseok yanked the whip backwards and sent Jung Kai’s body flying. He landed in the clump of ghosts, sending them all crashing to the ground. The chains around the ankles all clanked with the impact, and the jade dragons’ eyes started to glow bright red. A beam of red light flashed over the pile of ghosts and the dragons’ mouths dropped open. Water began to pour out of their mouths, gushing out and filling the room quickly.

The ghosts were all under a trance. Their chains were clearly spiritual and took their ability to freely move and think for themselves. None of them seemed panicked at the sudden change.

The water swirled its way around the fallen ghosts and Jung Kai who struggled to get out of the ghost mess. It was a vortex of powerful water that brought all the ghosts back together in the center, created to capture any that might run astray. That meant Minseok and Bei Xiong were not exempt from its wrath.

Like slithering vipers, two tendrils of water shot out from the vortex and made for Minseok and Bei Xiong. Minseok was quick and could dodge for a time, but Bei Xiong was still unconscious and was quickly swept away.

There was only so much Minseok could do before two more tendrils of water started to chase him.

He was able to position himself close enough to the door and cracked his whip on the two jade dragon heads. One became wrapped in the whip’s grasp, and the red beam of focus blaring from its eyes shot down onto Minseok. Immediately, the tendrils of water shot out for him, but before they could reach Minseok, he yanked with all his might on the whip. An electrical current of his spiritual power went down the whip and encased the dragon’s head. With both the electricity and the strength of his arms, the jade dragon head began to crack.

In a state of panic, the dragons focused both gazes on Minseok and called the vortex of water towards him with everyone still inside. It raced for Minseok like an angry tidal wave, yet he focused all his energy on dismantling that dragon’s head.

Before the rushing flood of ghosts could capture him, the jade head snapped with the pressure and fell to the floor. Each piece that fell shattered even further once it met with the ground and the water had ceased gushing from its mouth.

The tidal wave after him weakened significantly, which created an even better opportunity for Minseok to work on the next one. A few of the ghosts had been freed now that one of the dragon heads was destroyed. They rolled around on the ground, still in a daze and unaware of what was going on.

Along with those few ghosts, Jung Kai’s rancid and wet form tumbled out of the water. He hacked up water in a foul and grumbling voice, similar to low growls.

A thought flashed through Minseok’s head as he dashed around the marble columns of the hall. The whip in his hands was used to round up ghosts, so he thought he might try to use it to remove them from the violent waters.

Jung Kai was too quick for him to enact such a plan, though. Savage and running on all fours, Jung Kai sprinted for Minseok. His body plowed through the marble columns like they were nothing, leaving jagged dents and piles of marble all over the wet floor.

Minseok gritted his teeth in frustration. He had one more jade head to rip out but Jung Kai made this task far more difficult. He cracked the whip and made it wrap around a fairly large piece of marble before snapping it directly at Jung Kai.

Of course, this wouldn’t stop him, but all Minseok needed was a short distraction. The whip recoiled just as fast as the marble went flying and he cracked it again at Jung Kai. This time the whip wrapped around Jung Kai’s neck immediately after he dodged the marble chunk.

Minseok tightened his hold on Jung Kai’s neck and smirked.

“You can’t possibly expect to kill me with this.” Jung Kai spoke through broken strings of spit, both his hands trying to rip the whip away. “This is my whip. Its power will have no effect on me,” Jung Kai smirked.

Minseok simply pulled even tighter.

Jung Kai’s one good red eye looked like it would pop out of its socket. Persistently, he garbled, “You’ll never withstand…the demonic energy. It’ll consume you before you can.. master it!”

Minseok shrugged., “I’ve felt worse.” He raised his arms and yanked back so hard that Jung Kai’s body was jerked into the air.

The water, nearly about to engulf the two, stopped and tried to recalculate where Jung Kai would go. Unfortunately for the flood, Jung Kai’s body slammed against the second jade dragon head.

There was a thunderous pounding on the double doors, but an even more deafening crack that came from the dragon. No one would have been able to tell if it was Jung Kai’s back or the dragon head that cracked; all that mattered was that the head had also broken. It was ripped clean off like the first, and its mouth had shattered to the floor along with a good potion of its face.

Jung Kai’s limp body smashed into the ground, taking a few pieces of jade dragon head with him as he did so.

The water had all completely stopped and released the rest of the ghosts within its grasp.

Bei Xiong’s motionless body crashed into the ground as well, and Minseok ran over to check on him. He was alive, but just barely hanging on.

“Bei Xiong! _Bei Xiong!_ Get up!!” Minseok frantically called out and sent him spiritual power but to no avail.

Just then, the floors began to vibrate. Minseok thought it was just another one of the episodes that seemed to be linked to Lu Han remembering something, but he was oh so wrong. The double doors that once held the jade dragon heads groaned with the burden of opening.

A suffocating surge of demonic energy blasted through the hall and parted the fog. As the door opened, Minseok spotted the complete darkness within, like an empty abyss leading into nothing.

“Jung Kai,” a booming voice echoed all about the hall. It was a dark voice, deep and sinister. “You’ve disappointed me for the last time.”

A dark mass of smoke wafted out onto the floor of the hall, followed by an even larger mass of a skulking figure.

It was not a completely humanoid figure. From the torso up was the body of a human male. The rest was like a blobbed mass sprouting limbs of some kind of insect. The human part was not so pleasant—despite the strikingly handsome features on his face, there was an arm protruding from the side of his head. His back was full of extra limbs, all of which served a different purpose—none looked the same as the other. And on his stomach was a dubious looking line, stretching from one side of his waist to the other. It oozed a black substance.

This looked an awful lot like Jung Kai when he transformed, and like the other demons that Minseok saw dead in the courtyard.

Jung Kai was still very much conscious as the demon slunk his grimy body out from the doors. Using one of the many appendages jutting out from his back, the demon grabbed hold of Jung Kai and raised him high into the air. Jung Kai was limp, his body so damaged that he could no longer move it on his own.

“Is it really so difficult to capture one little cultivator?” The new demon’s voice was lethargic and heavy, dragging out his pauses with heavy breaths. “You can’t even kill a mere ghost for me, and you’ve made a mess of my home.” Something wicked switched in the sound of his voice.

“M-Master, I almost have him—”

Before Jung Kai had the chance to beg for his life and mistakes, his body was snapped in half.

“I’ve grown tired of your incompetence.” The demon threw Jung Kai’s limp body towards his own. The black sludge line across his torso opened into an enormous decrepit mouth, swallowing Jung Kai’s body whole. Foul sounds of crunching and gurgling echoed about the hall, leaving a sour taste in Minseok’s mouth.

The demon’s long black hair draped over his shoulders and hid a good portion of his face. When he straightened his back, the striking features on his face glistened in the pale blue light of the white hall. His features were so perfect, like that of a porcelain doll, dewy and white like snow. His eyes were a striking blue, like a crystal lake untouched by human hands.

Despite how handsome this foe was, Minseok couldn’t help but feel more uncomfortable than ever. There was no emotion behind the eyes, an unmoving face that indicated nothing.

Those crystal blue eyes fell on Minseok and Bei Xiong after swallowing the last bit of Jung Kai down.

With an unmoving mouth he said, “You are the meddlesome cultivator.” His gaze shifted over to Bei Xiong’s unconscious form. “Bei Xiong. You’ve looked better.”

“Who.. Who are you?” Minseok asked.

There was not an immediate answer.

“Taotie,” He finally responded, but his lips did not move. The mouth on his stomach was busy chewing away any leftovers, so just where did that sound come from?

A horrifying and overwhelming feeling encased Minseok’s whole being, like he was both frozen in terror and running for his very life. This creature’s aura was beyond any kind of demon, monster or ghost he had ever encountered. It was so suffocating that he almost succumbed to the urge to bow his head and submit to him. His whole being shook with fear. Just what kind of demon could possess an aura so intense?

“I expected that halfwit cultivator, Byun Baekhyun, to be here before anyone else,” Taotie said, then sent out one of the limbs on his back to grab Minseok.

Minseok had no way of blocking with the fear that froze his body. He was taken into a fierce hold—if he had a mortal body, he would have snapped in half as soon as Taotie grabbed him.

“But I guess his desire for more power overrules any morals he might have once had.” Taotie’s voice almost seemed despondent. “Instead, I’m left with this. Some nobody cultivator trying to interfere with my food.”

Minseok’s body was raised high into the air, Taotie’s bright blue eyes glaring at him through the locks of his jet black hair. 

“I had less than ten years left of this. But now that you’ve interrupted two months of my recuperating, I’ll be pushed back even longer.” Anguish flashed in his voice, a growl seething out when he finished.

From where Minseok was held, he had a clear view of Taotie’s body. On his thorax full of legs and wings, there was a giant mouth of white teeth moving with his words. It was horrifying.

“But a cultivator’s soul like yours is hard to come by. You’ll make up at least a month’s worth of devoured mortal souls.” Taotie brought Minseok down to his human body’s level. His gaze fell over Minseok in a domineering manner. “Shame. Everything would have gone to plan had you not interfered. I could have possessed Byun Baekhyun’s body and started taking over the cultivation world in your country. But he’s already started his little ploy.” Taotie sighed. “That’s okay. There’s still that pretty cultivator, Kim Jongdae. I’m sure there’s a way to amplify that controlling power of his. I’ll figure something out.”

He pulled Minseok in close and whispered with a twisted smile, “I always do.”

In a flourish, Bei Xiong roared and slammed into Taotie’s body. He sunk his great teeth in and ripped a chunk of the black sludgy thorax away. The grip on Minseok loosened greatly, so he took that as an opportunity to wrap the whip in his hand around Taotie’s human neck.

“Lay one finger on him, and I’ll wipe your existence from this world.” Minseok pulled the whip and it lacerated the neck instantly. A dark, oozing blood seeped from the wound as well as the mouth of the head, and Minseok was dropped.

Bei Xiong, running on pure instinct, jumped up and wrapped his jaws around the human head. It was ripped clean off and flung halfway across the floor.

Through a screaming rage, Taotie managed to shout, _“Do you have any idea how many centuries it took to grow that head?!”_ His body thrashed around violently, but Bei Xiong dove in and bit the back of Minseok’s robes to pull him out of the way. _“You filthy, filthy mortals! How dare you deny me what I want? How dare you deny me what is rightfully mine?!”_

Taotie’s body waived back and forth, thrashing against the doors and shattering them to nothing. He scrambled out into the hall and smashed into the marble columns, causing the whole place to quake.

Bei Xiong left Minseok in a safe enough spot and quickly ran for Taotie again. They battled it out like ferocious beings, stumbling back into the room Taotie had come out of. Minseok meant to follow, but several of those chimera reptilian imps slithered back into the room. The patter of their claws echoed and their trembling bodies scuttled like mindless spiders. They were weak little things; it was just annoying when they came in hordes.

Every crack of the whip sent demonic energy coursing through Minseok’s being, making it harder and harder to keep up with the cretins that jumped at him from all angles. His legs and arms would be tackled by the grotesque beings, but the more demonic energy of the whip that clashed with his spiritual base, the less he could hold them off.

They ate at his body, sucking the very essence from him. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t keep up.

There was pain, but this was nothing. Even as his vision was covered with the creatures, he could still bear to raise his fist and fend them off.

In his heart he heard that song again.

Jongdae was calling out to him, singing softly yet not as perfectly as usual.

The promise he made to Jongdae popped into his mind, and he felt ashamed for how quickly he was about to give up.

Instead of fighting the demonic energy that radiated in the whip, he held tightly onto it and let it consume him. It was only more destructive if he tried to fight it with his spiritual base. It was far from a pleasant feeling, but it allowed him to get the job done.

With a flick of his wrist, the whip snapped with a bright light of dark pink and sent the creatures flying. Their screams of pain echoed about and made the ones unaffected shout in fury. But Minseok’s hand was stronger and faster, he gave another crack and blasted the cretins to nothing but dust.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re resting,” Minseok called out to Jongdae.

It was a moment before Jongdae finally responded. “…It’s already been two days.. I’ve had plenty of rest.”

Minseok furrowed his brows and whipped at least six of the little monsters in half. He had forgotten how time was not quite the same between both worlds.

“I hadn’t heard from you since and was afraid that I shouldn’t call for you. I thought you might be in the middle of something.”

“Well, I appreciate the sentiment,” Minseok said as he lashed out at the creatures. Their numbers were quickly decreasing. “But you don’t have to worry about that. If you have something to say, then you can go ahead.”

Where Jongdae was, a small smile crept on his lips.

“What if I just want to hear your voice?”

Minseok felt his body grow warm and his words became flustered. “N-Ngh! I!! Um!” His mind stalled and it was hard to focus on both thinking and whipping the monsters by his feet.

Jongdae’s velvety voice chuckled and Minseok once again lost all ability to think.

Words like, “I must be out of my mind” or “When did I become like this?” sprouted in Minseok’s thoughts.

“A-Anyways! If anything happens, or if you feel different, tell me immediately. I think we have just met the one behind everything.” Minseok figured the last few monsters leftover would be fine to deal with later, so he rushed into the room to find Bei Xiong.

“You mean it isn’t just Baekho Ridge sect behind all this?”

“No, he’s working for a demon, Taotie. He reeks of filth and greed. And it seems like they’ve been using souls to feed him to gain more power. That’s why they’ve been using your voice to gather people. Your ability was a faster way for Taotie to manifest himself to his full potential. Which means something happened in the past to cause a great destruction of his body. We’re going to have to finish him off before he gets the chance to consume any more souls.”

“Kim Minseok,” Jongdae called out.

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

Minseok smirked and responded with, “I will.”

This room was also large, nearly as spacious as the hall he’d come from. The fighting between Bei Xiong and Taotie echoed all around so it was difficult to pinpoint their exact location. Not to mention that the room was pitch black. Hardly a sliver of light glistened. If there was any light it was a small flicker of flame from the various arrays that were strewn about the floor. Shelves holding relics of weapons and demonic items were plentiful, but it seemed pointless if no one could see them.

There were at least hundreds of these shelves, cloaked in darkness, never to see the light of day. The screams and howls of the two fighting somewhere off in the room were loud, but not loud enough to cover the sounds of the mess they were creating. It was easy to tell that the shelves were being destroyed one after the other.

“Bei Xiong!” Minseok yelled. “Where are you?!”

Using his whip, he snapped the few lizard monsters that had followed him into dust once again.

The room went eerily quiet the moment he let his presence be known.

Bei Xiong suddenly yelled out, “Minseok! Get down!”

Concurrently, one of Taotie’s appendages shot out for him. Minseok dodged, but just barely. He jumped between shelves with Taotie in hot pursuit, though he noticed how Taotie refused to barrel through shelves. He was meticulous about not disturbing them. Minseok wasn’t as courteous. He jumped on the tops of the bamboo shelves and gave no care for what fell over and shattered on the ground. The louder the shatter the louder and longer the groan that came from Taotie. This was clearly pissing him off.

When it felt like Taotie had stopped the pursuit, Minseok dropped in between two shelves and waited. The darkness was impossible to see through, so it was imperative to rely on his hearing. Even then, there was nothing!

He snuck around a few shelves when he noticed that they’d become smaller—he had come across weapon racks. Of the many auras bombarding his being, there was something familiar to him in one of them. Unknowingly, he followed after that feeling until it led him to a display of bows.

Amidst the many massive and intricately designed ones, he reached his hand out for one of the smaller ones without even thinking. In his hand he felt the surge of a familiar power and he quickly became emotional. It was Bom, his old bow. The physical bow itself may have been broken, but its spiritual essence was still alive and well.

As if happy to finally be reunited with its master, Bom’s golden arches let off a faint golden glow. Minseok, overflowing with joy, took Bom and inspected it, turning it over in his hands.

But before he could get a good look at it, he instinctively cracked the whip behind himself. The tail end wrapped around something and there was a flash of pink golden light. In that flash he saw Zitao, blocking the whip with Gwangseon.

“You!” Minseok exclaimed and quickly freed Gwangseon from the coils of the whip. Finally, he could be reunited with both his weapons.

Zitao just nodded but left the moment he’d given back the sword. One of Taotie’s appendages shot through the aisle before Minseok could ask Zitao anything. He managed to dodge but also slice through the arm. The appendage slunk back and the piece that was cut off squirmed on the ground, spouting black blood all over.

As Minseok ran away from that spot, another series of crashes and howls started up again. It seemed like Zitao had joined in on the fight against Taotie.

Just as Minseok went to turn around and join them, his eye caught the glimmer of flames lighting up an array. This array was different than the rest, more complex and surrounded with several small purple flames. On closer inspection, the array was written in blood, old blood that had dried long ago. It was a powerful spell radiating demonic energy, and suspended over it was a double-edged silver sword with a black hilt. 

“Break it,” Zitao’s voice suddenly sounded beside him. The demon was out of breath and gave off the scent of blood.

“What? Why? I don’t even know what the array is for,” Minseok stammered as he readied Gwangseon. If Zitao was here, then was Taotie close by?

“That’s Lu Han’s sword. This array is sealing his memories and powers.”

Like an epiphany, Minseok’s mind raced with new thoughts. “…But I can’t just step on the array and break it. Those fireballs will scatter my soul in an instant. You probably couldn’t get past it either!”

“Whip,” Zitao replied monotonously.

It wasn’t a bad idea!

Minseok took the whip back out and cast it into the array. He fought with the purple fire that raced down the cord of the whip so that it wouldn’t consume him. The whip wrapped around the black hilt of the sword and Minseok struggled a great deal to pull it free.

Zitao noticed the struggle and grabbed onto Minseok’s hand, using his own power to help fight against the curse of the array. Together they overcame the flames and stripped the sword from the array. It fell with a clang and scraped against the dried blood drawn on the floor. The smallest touch out of place, and the array was ruined.

Minseok went to smirk and rejoice with Zitao, but the demon had already disappeared again.

“What have you done?” Taotie heaved from somewhere in the room.

Minseok felt a cold sweat break over his body. He quickly grabbed the sword and moved away.

Taotie repeated himself in an even lower and booming voice, enunciating each word.

 _“What. Have. You. Done?!”_ The heavy and overbearing sensation of fear blanketed the room, and this time, Minseok was so stricken that he was unable to move.

He did everything he could just to will his being to move, to lift an arm or raise a leg. The more he tried without success, the more he panicked where he stood. He was so afraid that Taotie would appear and he would just stand there frozen and be eaten, but thankfully, Bei Xiong had intercepted an advance Taotie might have tried.

Bei Xiong bit into the back of Minseok’s robes again and sprinted for the exit. Thick strips of black flung out at the two of them as they made way into the main hall, sinking into the ground like bullets. A few stabbed Bei Xiong in the back, but he made no indication of any pain.

Bei Xiong settled Minseok onto the ground in the courtyard, but not a moment after, the ground trembled violently.

“What’s going on?” Bei Xiong’s words were rushed as he took a stance to protect Minseok.

“We just can’t get a break, can we?” Minseok snickered wryly.

Taotie’s screaming body thrashed out of the pavilion and skidded down the stairs in a bloody mess. Bei Xiong and Zitao had done a pretty solid number on him, thankfully.

Zitao appeared beside the two of them with a barely functioning Lu Han. He was slumped over, groaning in agonizing pain as the world around them began to crumble away.

Minseok wasted not a second and raised the sword he had broken out of the demonic array and slashed it upon the two shackles around Lu Han’s ankles.

It was a mistake to do such a thing right away, because Lu Han fell to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs. His eyes went white while he pulled at his hair, the memories that had once been locked away deep in his heart were resurfacing all at once. The force of wind picked up around them, twirling around and gathering everything in its path. As the wind blew, Lu Han’s writhing body rose high into the sky, a current of mess and terror following behind him.

“What’s happening?!” Minseok shouted above the wind and the sound of breaking islands.

Bei Xiong stared up at Lu Han with pensive, melancholic eyes.

“He’s been freed,” Bei Xiong whispered. “Now he’ll suffer for the rest of his life.”

Zitao beside them held out a small white pouch. “In,” he directed to Minseok.

Minseok looked at him as if he had five heads. It was clearly a spirit-trapping pouch, but what on earth was Zitao trying to use it on him for?

“I will protect you.”

Minseok gritted his teeth. “I can’t go back as I am?”

“Not unless you want your soul scattered,” Zitao answered.

Bei Xiong rushed his words again. “We must find a way out of here. How can we help him?”

Zitao said nothing.

Before anyone could do anything more, the ground beneath their feet cracked and tore apart more violently than it had from the tremors. Pieces jutted out, uprooting the peach blossom trees and breaking the various pavilions on the lot. A turbulent wind rushed all around as if sucking everything away into a vortex.

“He’s destroying the realm!” Minseok exclaimed.

Taotie had been off on his own, battling against the shattering stairs and watching his palace be destroyed.

Zitao snatched the sword in Minseok’s hand and Bei Xiong took him away in a flourish. One of the floating islands had come speeding through and crash landed in the center of the courtyard. All of the islands above were quickly falling form the sky, smashing into the ground and breaking it down even further.

While Bei Xiong had taken Minseok out of the way, he couldn’t escape an island about to collide into them. He was much too weak to force his body to move in time, so he threw Minseok out far enough to just miss the island.

Minseok was able to steady himself on his sword Gwangseon and float, but Bei Xiong unfortunately did not escape it. His body was completely pinned between both the ground and the island of bamboo and pine trees.

As Minseok went to him, several demons and demonic cultivators appeared into the chaos of the courtyard and all grabbed Taotie. Together they were able to hold his large and decrepit body before summoning an array and disappearing through it. Taotie’s escape was less than desirable, but there was nothing Minseok could do about it now. Instead, he rushed over to find and help Bei Xiong.

“Hey… Is everything okay?” Minseok felt Jongdae’s soft voice within himself.

He snorted. “Wow, what informal speech.” 

“I don’t understand this, but I can feel you.. And you feel… distressed,” Jongdae continued, choosing to ignore Minseok’s remark.

“Lu Han’s destroying the world, and Bei Xiong was crushed by an island. Yes, I’m a little ‘distressed,’” Minseok informed the other in a rather cynical tone. Then he asked Jongdae to stay closely connected for the time being, that way he wouldn’t have to inform him of every change that was about to take place.

By the time Minseok arrived at his side, Bei Xiong was limp with half his body wedged between the island and ground. Miraculously, he was still breathing. It was a horrific sight and made Minseok wonder just how could any living being still be alive after that?

Minseok knew better than to try and move Bei Xiong, one wrong move and he could die. Yet his feet went to move toward the boulder on instinct.

“Don’t,” Bei Xiong heaved.

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?!” Minseok snapped.

“Just leave me. You can’t do anything for me now.”

Gritting his teeth Minseok exclaimed, “But you have to get out of here! All this time you have been angry that Lu Han had no memories, but now that they have returned, you have no motivation?!”

Bei Xiong gave Minseok a weak nod.

“It doesn’t sound like whoever you’re talking to wants to go with you.” Jongdae’s easy voice was clear as day within Minseok.

“No.. He doesn’t. But he doesn’t deserve to die here.”

“Minseok…”

The way Jongdae called out his first name caught him off guard. It seemed so intimate with the simple change in address.

“You can’t save everyone… You can’t be a hero all the time.”

Jongdae’s words stung like a hot iron.

Minseok clenched his fists in frustration. He knew Jongdae had no malicious intent, but the words still hurt.

Then, a breathy chuckle left Bei Xiong’s lips.

Even as the world around them broke away and crumbled, Bei Xiong still found it within him to laugh.

“I will never forget the day I first met him… He saved me. And I would gladly let him take away my last day.” He closed his eyes and seemed at peace within himself.

Minseok could not understand how calm Bei Xiong was.

“Minseok…” Jongdae’s soft voice called to him again, “you should leave them be.”

In the storm of the world breaking down, Zitao appeared once more beside them.

His words were rushed as he held out the spirit trapping pouch. “You must come.”

The island that had pinned Bei Xiong down chipped away bit by bit, throwing bamboo and rock in all directions.

“But—!”

Jongdae urged, “If he’s doing it for the person he loves, you cannot change his mind.”

Jongdae was right, but Minseok was stubborn and just couldn’t see it from that point of view. He thought it natural to want to stay alive and see the person you love. That’s what he wanted: he wanted to see Jongdae.

Minseok faltered for a moment. _He wanted to see Jongdae?_

Then he kept putting things together, piece by piece: the way he wished to protect Jongdae, the way he wanted to rip Baekhyun’s arms off for keeping him imprisoned, the way he promised to rescue Jongdae despite his situation. They way Jongdae’s voice flowed like a quiet river on a late spring night. The way he sang as if it was only meant for Minseok to hear. The way he rubbed his right eye just after waking up, or the way he was on the verge of tears seeing Minseok wake up.

“What are you doing? These emotions are so overwhelming..” Jongdae uttered.

All that Minseok was feeling must have been strong enough to call out to Jongdae.

“Fine… I’ll go,” Minseok muttered. “I hope this is what you really want.”

Bei Xiong simply nodded.

Zitao went to open the pouch, but the forces around them were too strong. Pieces of the islands, pavilions, trees and bamboo rushed around violently. No matter how much they tried to block the gusts blowing against them, it wasn’t enough to protect themselves.

The small pouch in Zitao’s hand was swept away in the wind and dissipated like the rest of the world.

“Get down!” Minseok dashed to move Zitao out of the way, but a large piece of the island crushing Bei Xiong broke away and headed right for the demon.

Underneath Minseok’s feet, the ground also split and started to give way. his footing was thrown off and Zitao was hit by the boulder.

With each step, Minseok sunk further and further, trying to stay atop the pieces of ground falling in the vortex-like hole below. With one last jump, he aimed to grab hold of the edge of the ground where it hadn’t yet broken away. He missed by just a hair’s length.

A hand, unbelievably, reached out and grabbed on to Minseok’s outstretched hand. Bei Xiong was able to lean far enough over the dropoff right by his head and grab hold of Minseok.

Dazed by the sudden save, Minseok stared at the hand, listening to Bei Xiong’s grunts of pain.

Minseok was thankful for the save, no doubt, but the one thing circulating through his mind was Jongdae. If he fell, or perished with this world, what would happen to Jongdae who was connected within him?

Through his sounds of agony, Bei Xiong spoke, “Kim Minseok. There are no other options for you! You have to let him go!”

Minseok looked away, gritting his teeth.

“I can offer you one last escape, but I can’t unless the one within you is gone!”

“Jongdae…” Minseok called aloud, it was meant for the one within him to hear.

In a trembling voice, Jongdae responded, “Yes?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then this time for real. You must let go… We must let go.”

Minseok heard a sob from Jongdae and his heart constricted.

“What will happen to you?” Jongdae breathed.

“..I don’t know… But you have to trust me.”

The ground beneath Bei Xiong suddenly began to crack and give way.

“Hurry!” Bei Xiong screamed.

“Please, you have to trust me. You have to let go,” Minseok urged in a rush.

After a moment, Jongdae calmed down just a bit.

The ground broke and Bei Xiong’s upper body fell over the edge while he still held desperately onto Minseok.

With a shaky sigh, Jongdae said, “All right. I trust you. But you promised you would come for me. You promised you would find me.”

“I will still keep that promise. I _will_ find you,” Minseok resolved.

“All right.. But first.. I’m sorry for paralysing you and nearly killing you eight years ago..”

Minseok frowned with the sudden memory.

“But I will never forget that week we had together. Even if you prefer to forget it, it was more special to me than you’ll ever realize.”

The sound of crumbling ground intensified.

Minseok sighed, “Jongdae?”

“Yes?” His voice was but a whisper.

“I’m sorry I spied on you all those years ago.”

Not a moment later, the connection the two once had vanished. First, Jongdae’s end disappeared. Then, Minseok reluctantly pulled his own back.

Bei Xiong yelled at Minseok. Even as the ground holding the two of them in place broke away, he still could not hear anything.

A bright white light then engulfed Minseok’s vision. He accepted it, and let it consume him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thus concludes the made up spirit realm


	21. 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: mentioned torture, the start of proper romance

“It’s so dark in here, how can you even see? And it’s freezing!” a voice griped. “Are you sure he’s even down here?”

There was no response.

“Hey! Are you listening to me?!”

“Quiet!” the other finally seethed.

It wasn’t long before the silence was broken again.

“You’ve been back for a little over a week and you’re just as moody.”

They stopped before a cell door.

“Ugh, what now?”

“He’s here..”

“Huh—?”

“Quick! Help me open the lock!”

The two fumbled with the cell door before breaking the seal and unlocking it.

“Minseok, careful! You don’t know what’s in there!”

Minseok ignored the warning and rushed into the poorly lit cell. A body lay in the center of the filthy room, back faced toward Minseok. The robes were sprawled out, stains of dried blood and dirt soiled the white and green fabric.

He knelt beside the body and whispered, “Jongdae.”

There was no response and it worried Minseok. Jongdae’s body was motionless, and he hardly appeared to be breathing.

Minseok carefully turned him over and found that Jongdae’s eyes were open and lined with tears. He was dazed, not particularly focusing on anything and hadn’t realized Minseok was before him yet.

Minseok whispered with a trembling smile, “Kim Jongdae, it’s me.. I have come for you.”

There was no response again.

Minseok clenched a first in anger and cursed the ones that left him like this.

He was bruised all over and felt cold to the touch, and it broke Minseok’s heart to see him in such a state. Minseok lifted Jongdae up into his arms and tried to focus Jongdae’s gaze back onto him.

“Kim Jongdae, look at me. It’s me, Kim Minseok.” Minseok held Jongdae closer.

“This is really a touching reunion and everything, but we are on a tight schedule.” Junmyeon urged as he waved his fan at the two on the ground. “My distraction will only keep him away from the sect for so long. Who knows how tough it’s gonna be to get out of here, then.”

Jongdae suddenly blinked, his eyes misted over as they focused on Minseok and a small smile struggled over his lips. He raised a trembling hand and held Minseok’s cheek.

“Jongdae, it’s me!” Minseok beamed.

It looked like Jongdae tried to say something, the way his lips moved, yet barely any sound came out.

“W-What’s wrong with him?” Minseok directed to Junmyeon.

“I told you… You weren’t going to like the state of him when you found him.”

“That’s not answering my question!” Minseok snapped.

“..I don’t know the details, but I overheard the servants gossiping. Byun Baekhyun tortured him for several days until a week ago. He refused to give in to what Baekhyun wanted and destroyed his vocal cords. He used his own spiritual powers to basically self-destruct his voice.”

Minseok was horror-stricken.

He couldn’t find any words to say and simply stared at the cultivator in his arms, wondering just what he must have suffered to lead to such a thing.

It appeared that Jongdae had not heard the two conversing. He smiled weakly as if nothing was wrong and continued to stroke Minseok’s cheek.

“Kim Jongdae,” Minseok called out to him and held onto the hand on his cheek. “May I give you some of my spiritual energy?”

As if smitten by love, Jongdae sighed and smiled even wider before nodding his agreement.

Minseok wanted it to go directly into his throat to help mend the pain and discomfort, but with the way he was holding Jongdae, there was no comfortable way for his hands to go. A fleeting idea went through his mind and he leaned in to Jongdae’s neck.

“May I use my mouth?” he asked quietly.

Jongdae nodded.

With that, Minseok pressed his lips against the prominence of Jongdae’s throat and spilled his spiritual energy over.

Junmyeon, who had been standing watch by the cell door, quickly covered his face with his fan.

After a few minutes, Jongdae jolted in shock and shoved Minseok away.

“Are you all right?”

In a rasped tone, Jongdae tried to call out Minseok’s name; he could hardly believe his eyes.

Jongdae sat up and cupped Minseok’s face with both hands. His eyes roamed frantically all over Minseok's form as if his life depended on it. Tears poured from Jongdae’s eyes the moment he confirmed all of it was real. That Minseok was truly there in front of him.

Minseok pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “Sorry. I’m late.”

Jongdae shook his head back and forth in disbelief.

“Can you walk?” Minseok asked.

Jongdae went to respond but he stopped short. Even if he could walk, he was much too weak to support himself. He looked away in shame.

“Wrap your arms around my neck.”

Jongdae easily complied.

Minseok swept Jongdae from the floor with one hand supporting his back and the other under his knees.

“Let’s go.”

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“Really, it’s already this late in the morning and you’re sleeping away. Now you’ve missed the meeting,” Junmyeon griped.

“That’s what I have you here for—you can tell me what went on in the meeting,” Minseok gloated with a smile.

“I will not be your messenger boy. But just so you know, we were able to get hold of our target.”

“Good. Will he cooperate?”

“So far it seems he will. He has asked us to meet somewhere in secret, but we have not confirmed where. Byun Baekhyun will not sit idly by any longer—it has been almost three days since I escaped Injeongjeon Hall to help you take Kim Jongdae away, and that is apparently the limit of his restraint. A letter came in today threatening that he will torture someone he has locked up in the Royal Estate, for every hour that we do not return and turn you in. We need to seriously sit down and talk about our next plan of action. You can leave him alone for two hours—” Junmyeon suddenly fell silent.

“We’re sitting down now, aren’t we? It’s not that big of a problem, I’ll join you later this evening if it bothers you so much.”

Junmyeon kept his gaze past Minseok, focused rather intently.

“He’s waking up.”

“Huh?” Minseok blinked for a moment, then looked down to find Jongdae slowly coming to.

Minseok, who had been seated on the side of the bed, scrambled to kneel by Jongdae’s head and placed a hand on his hair.

“I’ll fetch some medicine and tea.” Junmyeon stood from the chair he had pulled over by the bedside and left the room.

It was a while of Minseok stroking Jongdae’s hair back before he said anything.

“How are you feeling?”

Jongdae did not respond right away. Instead, his eyes stayed glued on Minseok. Eventually, he lifted a hand and gently placed it on Minseok’s face. He was careful with his movement, almost as if one wrong move and Minseok would turn to dust in his very fingers. His hand stroked and pressed at the skin, unbelieving of what he was feeling. Eventually, he brought his other hand up and cradled Minseok’s face.

Jongdae tried to say something, but his throat could hardly form any kind of sound. As he did so, his eyes grew red and his lips turned to a frown.

Minseok held onto Jongdae’s hands and quickly consoled him.

“It’s me, it’s really me. I’m here, and you’re safe. I promised I would return to save you, I promised I would live, did I not?”

Tears fell fast from Jongdae’s eyes as he tried to speak again, but the rasped noises coming from his throat sounded too painful.

“I’ll tell you everything, but first you have to calm down and take some medicine. Your health right now is first priority.”

Minseok went to get up, but as he leaned over to stand, Jongdae flung himself up from the bed and wrapped his arms around Minseok’s neck. The loosely-fitted white under-robes fell off Jongdae's shoulders and the bed sheets tangled messily between his legs. His raven-black hair draped over his shoulders in disarray and Minseok could not help but marvel at how gorgeous he looked.

It would be months before Jongdae’s voice would heal over and he could speak again. But by the way he held onto Minseok as if he would disappear without warning, Minseok knew that he should stay.

Minseok, still dressed in his inner robes, climbed into the bed and let Jongdae sob into his shoulder. He cried for so long that Junmyeon, who had brought medicine and stood outside the door waiting for the tears to pass, decided it was best to come back later.

After some time, when Jongdae finally calmed down, Minseok told him about what happened.

"When my body first went missing, it was because Master Shim and the monks of the monastery had confiscated it before the Baekho Ridge cultivators could do anything with it," Minseok began, hoping to assuage the guilt Jongdae was consumed with when he didn't know where Minseok’s body had ended up. 

He explained that Master Shim had evidently followed them since they left the monastery and kept close. He was unfortunately too late to interfere when it came to the inn, the villagers, and Minseok, but he was able to get the gist of what was going on from overhearing their conversations in the back of the carriage. Knowing that Minseok’s soul was thrown into the fabricated spirit realm, he waited for the perfect opportunity to ambush and free Minseok and Jongdae. He was unfortunately unable to save Jongdae, but was able to grab hold of Minseok. He kept his body well preserved by pouring copious amounts of spiritual energy into Minseok. It was an exhausting feat, but Minseok was able to come back to his body because of it.

"The other reason why I was able to come back to you was thanks to the loyal wolverine, Bei Xiong." 

Minseok was more reluctant to relay how Bei Xiong had willingly sacrificed his body and power to Minseok while they were still in the spirit realm. It was an… excruciatingly complicated moment, after all. With this new power, he could escape the realm and get safely back to his original body. This kind of spell was unheard of within the southern cultivation realms—it should have been impossible to achieve something so miraculous. It was an art form of cultivation practiced by the remote natives far north, where the winds were brutal and lands cruel.

By sacrificing one’s physical body and spiritual power to a recently deceased soul, the soul could find a way to its body and be among the living once more. This was how Minseok could come back, rescue Jongdae and safely bring him back to Mugunghwa Valley.

While listening to Minseok’s story, Jongdae hung his head and rested it against his chest. His voice was weak and raspy when he finally spoke.

“Then… Bei Xiong is…”

Minseok nodded. “He’s completely erased from this world.”

“Not quite so,” a voice called out from behind Minseok’s door. “Excuse me, may I come in?”

Minseok agreed, knowing that it was Lu Han. The captured cultivator had also managed to emerge from the spirit realm he'd been forced to create by Taotie.

Lu Han walked in, dressed in fresh, clean, dark robes. He brought the tray of medicine that Junmyeon was supposed to bring over, along with a small bowl of congee. He placed the tray on a small table beside the bed and gave the cup of tea to Jongdae with a smile.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Kim Jongdae.”

Jongdae nodded politely and sat straight in Minseok’s arms.

“This is Lu Han. The one who helped me while I was a spirit,” Minseok introduced.

Jongdae nodded again, but he kept a lingering gaze on the newcomer as Lu Han sat down in the chair beside the bed.

“Bei Xiong’s existence is not totally gone from this world,” Lu Han sighed.

Minseok had noticed since meeting him in the real world that Lu Han was much different than the naive "demon" he'd first met those months ago. There was a great sadness that constantly loomed over him now, his smiles were few and the high energy he used to have was toned down. Now he was quiet, more observant of everything around him.

“He sacrificed his everything to give Minseok a chance to live again. Now his power resides in our friend Kim Minseok. He’ll find things that were once trivial are even easier. Bei Xiong was no weak fellow…” Lu Han sadly smiled to himself. “He was a great being. Use the power you’ve been given wisely.” The smile was wiped clean from his face as he stared Minseok down.

Minseok nodded firmly. “I will.”

“But—!” Jongdae went to speak but his voice failed, throat painful. He cleared his throat and quickly pulled himself back, wincing in pain.

Minseok was quick to comfort him.

“You were going to say something like, ‘but you loved him,’ weren’t you?”

Jongdae nodded slowly.

With a sorrowful smile, Lu Han sighed, “I supposed I did, didn’t I? But that was over five hundred years ago. I may have regained my memories, but all that remains are the nostalgic memories we once shared.” 

Lu Han took a moment to reminisce on his memories before he started again. “…Traveling north of my country and losing myself in the wilds and meeting all the different kinds of people was one of the happiest times of my life. I don’t remember much, because the memories are just so old. But I do remember being happy. I remember finding Bei Xiong severely mauled after a fight with a monster and tending to his wounds. He was already more than just a wolverine at the time—he had a small spiritual base from living in the mountains. All it took was for me to properly train him, teach him my language, meditation and martial arts before he could develop a human form. He was my companion like that for many.. many years…”

A silence grew over those in the room.

Jongdae then grabbed Minseok’s hand and began to draw the characters for Yanling DaoRen in his palm.

Minseok perked up and quickly exclaimed, “Yanling DaoRen.. are you really the Yanling DaoRen, Lu Lushan?!”

That sorrow-filled smile graced Lu Han’s lips once more.

“Unfortunately, that is me… The cultivator who was possessed and massacred hundreds.”

“But the legend says you were stabbed by thousands of swords.” Minseok added.

“I was. And I should have died there for my sins… Yet here I am. Living and breathing while the one who was most innocent in all this gave his life up.” Lu Han sighed again. “I wonder if its because my story doesn’t end here that I’m still alive. That there might be some other purpose for me to fulfil.”

Suddenly, beside Lu Han, Zitao appeared and knelt on one knee.

“Oh, Zitao.” Lu Han smiled with all his teeth bared. This was the most heartfelt smile Minseok had seen on his face since returning.

Lu Han patted Zitao’s head and ruffled his bangs askew.

“Have you returned with the medicine?”

Zitao nodded and fished out the cloth-wrapped medicine from inside his robes.

Lu Han took the medicine and placed it on the tray beside the congee.

“This is an extra painkiller. I imagine your throat will be in pain for quite some time. I don’t know your reasons, and I don’t need to. But you do not need to suffer needlessly.”

“Thank you,” Minseok said with a gratefulness about him.

Jongdae smiled and nodded quite politely as his own thanks.

“A part of Bei Xiong will somehow always be a part of you, Kim Minseok. For that, I am grateful. I will mourn in my own way.” Lu Han gave that sorrowful smile, one last time as he stared at Zitao. “It seems as if it was not so long ago when Bei Xiong and I stumbled upon a young Zitao, who was starving and quite the injured little demon.”

Lu Han gave Zitao’s head another pat and the demon gladly nudged into it.

“Sorry for not recognizing you while you were working under Jung Kai. It must have been tough, wasn’t it?”

Zitao shook his head.

Lu Han beamed. “We’ve gotten old, haven’t we? I’m afraid I’ve changed too much since we were last together.”

Zitao quickly shook his head. “The same.”

There was a mild surprise on Lu Han's face for a moment, but it quickly softened to a complacent smile.

“All right,” Lu Han huffed as he stood up and straightened his robes. “That’s enough from me. You have many people waiting to see you, Kim Jongdae. I will let in those two who have been anxiously waiting to see you. Zitao and I will be around if you need.” With a bow of the head and a salute, he exited the room with the demon.

Jongdae took a moment before wondering who the two might be. He whipped his head to Minseok when he thought it might be two people very close to him.

Minseok smiled before he teased, “Are you more excited to see your two friends than you are me?”

Jongdae took in a heavy breath of air, knowing full well he could not verbally retort. Instead, he dove his head right for Minseok’s chest and hugged him tightly. The very air had been punched from his chest and Minseok laughed.

Not long after, a flourish of two bustling people entered the room—with cries so loud they could be heard from the heavens.

The two cultivators in their green and white robes fell at the bedside where Minseok had been helping Jongdae eat his congee. Minseok was subsequently pushed, rather harshly, to the side and forgotten about.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!!” the two exclaimed with tears streaming down their faces.

“We missed you so much!”

“How are you feeling? Is this food adequate? Your palate is so sensitive and particular, we know this food must be trash!”

The tallest of the two had taken the bowl from Jongdae’s hands and given it a sniff.

“Ugh, peasant food.” He tossed it carelessly back on the tray.

“Our poor Senior Brother, staying at a lackluster sect, in this shabby room, eating mediocre food..” the other sobbed into the sleeve of his robe.

“We’ve been trying for days to bring you back to Jinju Peony Sect, but this one—” The tallest pointed an angry finger at Minseok. “Would have none of it! How can you expect to rejuvenate in such conditions!”

“And your voice! Our Senior Brother’s precious voice! How could such a monster allow this to happen!” The shorter of the two proclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Jongdae’s head and held him close to his chest.

Minseok went to get the one hugging Jongdae off, but the tallest of the two slapped Minseok’s hand away.

“How dare you think you can lay your hands upon either of us without permission?! You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking you could be in the same room as our Young Master! Failure to abide by our rules is punishable by—”

“Stop!” Jongdae choked out with his raspy voice. He coughed violently and held onto his sore throat.

“You idiots!” Minseok seethed and pushed the two away from Jongdae before taking over.

After a few sips of the herbal tea, Jongdae’s throat was much better.

Minseok turned to face the two Jinju Peony cultivators and found them knelt on the ground with their heads hung low.

“Forgive us,” The taller of the two started.

“We should have chosen our actions more wisely,” The second finished.

“At least you know you were wrong—”

Jongdae tugged on Minseok’s sleeve and motioned for a piece of paper and writing utensil.

On the piece of parchment, he wrote, _Stop with the act. Just behave normally._

The two looked at one another in mild panic.

“Okay, we won’t be so over the top,” The tallest said.

“But we were genuinely worried about you, Senior Brother,” The shorter continued.

_I am grateful for your sentiment. But there is no audience. You do not have to be over the top. Sehun. Apologize to Kim Minseok._

The tallest, Sehun, grimaced unkindly. “Why should I have to apologize for that little thing? Compared to everything he’s done to you—”

Jongdae raised a hand to stop him and gave a reprimanding stare.

It took everything in Sehun’s being to give in and apologize, but Minseok beat him to it.

“It’s fine. He doesn’t have to apologize.”

Sehun just stared at Minseok with a complicated gaze.

Jongdae held the parchment out again, _Jongin, are you all right?_

Everyone’s attention turned to the man still kneeling on the ground. He hung his head and bit his lip, as if trying to hold back what he truly wanted to say.

“Senior Brother.. We understand that you have special circumstances surrounding Hwarang Leader Kim Minseok, but please don’t expect us to be so nice to him all the time,” Jongin finally said.

Jongdae wrote for a while on a new piece of parchment: _That’s fine. Do not force yourself to be kind. He knows of my circumstances as well, so you do not have to hide it._

Both Jongin and Sehun gaped at Jongdae’s words.

“H-He knows?” Sehun asked.

“And doesn’t reject you?” Jongin furthered.

Jongdae shook his head.

The two Jinju Peony cultivators smiled in both awe and merriment for their friend. They were both truly happy for him. But as Minseok tried to grab for a cup of tea to give to Jongdae, the two shot him deadly glares.

Minseok backed off. “Okay, how about I leave the three of you alone.” He gathered his outer robe and loosely slung it around his shoulders. “Just make sure he eats.” With that, he left the room.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“Junmyeon,” Minseok called out as he entered the main hall.

“Oh good, you finally decide to join us after hours of nothing,” Junmyeon chastised.

The hall was filled with a crowd of cultivators. There was a mixture of colorful robes, but the majority were wearing the white and green robes of Jinju Peony or the pink of Mugunghwa. Everyone here had in some way, shape, or form been affected by Baekho Ridge’s treason, whether their sect leaders were held captive or their sects pillaged by demons. They were gathered around a large wooden table with a map of the country, indicating the sects and capital.

“Yes, yes. I am here,” Minseok waved the scolding off as he made his way to Junmyeon’s side.

Everyone in the room had grown warily quiet.

It was no secret that Kim Minseok, leader of the Hwarang, had died over a month ago. To see him walking around as if nothing was wrong made them uncomfortable. The people whispered amongst themselves about demonic arts, or that he simply faked his death. They were all baseless rumors, of course.

A month ago, Minseok would have snapped at those gossiping so blatantly and challenged them to a sword duel. Now, he couldn't be bothered to cast them so much as a side glance. There was something much more important to be dealt with, so petty chatter amongst people was of no concern.

“Your timing couldn’t be more impeccable, _oh renowned one_.” Junmyeon stressed the title in a rather mocking manner. “Our contact just sent a messenger to us.”

At the other end of the table was a cloaked figure.

“All right, let’s hear what they have to say.” Minseok nodded toward the stranger.

The stranger removed his hood and revealed himself to be a sickly man. The hollows of his cheeks were sunken in and his cheekbones exaggerated. His skin was a ghostly white, as if transparent. The dark circles under his eyes were no better, they gave off the impression of a walking skeleton. His hair was tied back in a low ponytail, but the fringe in front was a mess. This was a man who looked in desperate need of rest and medicine.

With an intense gaze, the stranger made eye contact with each person in the room before focusing back on Junmyeon.

“The message I bring is not meant for the ears of just anyone. There are only a select few whom I will allow to listen. I hope that you all will understand my sentiment in that, the fewer people who know, the less chance there is of duplicity.”

“I assure you, the people gathered here today have come to confront Baekho Ridge Sect. They are not your enemy,” Junmyeon stated.

“I understand. But I still refuse to speak unless it is only with those representing the direct leadership of the more notable sects. These are the wishes coming directly from the contact.”

A cultivator in the crowd spoke up. “Who even is this contact?”

Once this was said, many in the room murmured similar questions.

“If it’s something that benefits us, you should tell us.”

“Just how important is this person if their identity must be kept hidden?”

The more they vocalized, the louder they got.

Minseok stepped forward and slammed a hand on the table. “Right now, we will only allow two people from each sect to remain in this room. Only those who have been left in charge while their respective leaders are imprisoned in the capital will be allowed to stay. Decide this amongst yourselves, dismiss the rest.”

There was clear disagreement with the order, but the assembled cultivators worked together with their respective sects, sending the lower ranks away until about three quarters of the people were gone.

Jongdae, Jongin and Sehun had been carefully escorted to the hall to join in on the meeting. The moment the three of them walked into the room and saw the stranger, they politely kowtowed.

“Your highness,” Jongin and Sehun both calmly said.

The stranger said nothing and simply looked at the three. Everyone else in the room looked back and forth trying to piece together what was happening.

Junmyeon gaped. “'Highness?' This man is just a messenger, is he not?”

Minseok had quickly made his way to Jongdae’s side and helped him to his feet.

“Messenger?” Jongin started.

“This is the Crown Prince, Kim Woosung,” Sehun finished.

The two looked at one another, thoroughly confused as to why no one recognized this person as the Crown Prince.

The rest of the people in the room looked at the supposed Crown Prince expectantly.

“Is this true?” Minseok asked.

“…Yes. I am the Crown Prince who has been missing from the capital for a few weeks now.” He pulled out the twin dragon seal on his hip and presented it. It was the official seal of the royal family.

Everyone in the room immediately bowed their heads, muttering apologies against their offenses.

Junmyeon spoke up the loudest amongst the muffled voices. “For the Crown Prince to visit us during this time, we are honored. But to go as yourself rather than sending a messenger, this matter must be of dire importance. How can we assist you?”

From underneath his dark cloak, the Crown Crince boldly took out a scroll and opened it on the table. The few people there gathered to get a closer look. Minseok, still supporting Jongdae, carefully made his way over. Jongin clung close to the other side of Jongdae, scowling at Minseok the entire time.

“I’ve had to secretly reach out to you without the use of my servants or body guards because I have none. I sent out the last of my King’s Guard to retake the palace, and they have not returned. Their bodies were mutilated and spiked outside the royal palace. I’ve dismissed my servants to escape and be with their families during this time. I have no one to go to except you all.” As he spoke, the crown prince removed his cloak to present the dirty and drab robes he had been wearing as a disguise. His sickly face and unkempt clothes made him look like nothing more than a beggar, yet he spoke with refined dignity.

“This scroll protects a royal family secret that has been passed down for hundreds of years. I understand that many of your cultivation sects feel as if the royal family only trained their own cultivators because we simply can. Because you are a priceless commodity that those in power want. That is not the case. This closely-guarded secret has been kept by only those with royal blood. Just telling you of it would be considered treason by family members and cause the immediate removal of the family member, by exile or execution. But it is also within the royal family’s duty to protect this secret by any means necessary. I have deemed this situation as my only option… What we protect so heavily is a small flower, cultivated in the underground springs of the mountain behind the capital. We call it the White Lily of Life.

“By absorbing the spiritual energy of the mountain, the flower is able to provide longevity. Kings of the past have all consumed this flower to extend their lifespan and reign over the land. One flower will add exactly one hundred years to one's lifespan. Unless murdered, sickness or poison cannot take one's life. The one you call Byun Baekhyun has been hounding the capital and my family for this flower. I do not know his intentions, or how he came to know of this well-kept family secret. The Royal King and I are the only ones who know of it. Unless my father, who is held captive in the capital, has divulged its whereabouts, Baekho Ridge should not know where it is. But out of fear of its eventual exposure, I must make the journey back to the mountains behind Yonggang City to keep the safety of the flowers. I ask that you lend me your power and help me move the flower far away from here. I feel this is one of the few ways to help the situation in the city—to focus their attention elsewhere and take back the capital as soon as possible.”

“Why can’t we just say that we have the flower and hide somewhere?” one of the cultivators asked.

“Because this is a heavily-guarded secret. If a message or announcement is made that I willingly have the flower in possession, he will never believe it. To truly trick him, we must demonstrate activity moving forward. The closer we get to the capital, the more his spies will notice us. If we’re lucky, we can reach the flower before they can figure out our path and we can guard the entrance to the cave.”

“We would be leading them straight to it! This is a terrible idea,” a few cultivators vocalized quite rudely.

“Do you have any other suggestions?”

“An ambush on the capital! We have the numbers if we gather everyone from each sect—”

Junmyeon abruptly cut the woman off. “And then what? Leave so few people in the sects to defend them?”

Minseok then continued, “Many of you may not be aware of this, but there are hordes of demons lurking in the shadows just waiting for an opportunity to attack. Kim Jongdae of Jinju Peony Sect has experienced firsthand the savage power Byun Baekhyun holds. For years, he threatened him with the murder of his sect members if he did not cooperate with Baekho Ridge. Unfortunately, Byun Baekhyun was successful in massacring one of his sect's watch towers. Many of us did not know or were simply told that there was an unfortunate outbreak of corpses that they could not overcome. We would never know what hit our sects while we are away. We need people to stay and defend our sects and the villages we swore an oath to protect.”

Many of the cultivators looked to Jongdae under one of Minseok’s arms, asking expectantly if it was true.

Jongdae nodded meekly, but his eyes were firm.

It seemed that Sehun and Jongin were unaware of these events and were horrified. They were quick to be by Jongdae’s side and berate him with questions. All this time they had never known the truth. They, too, were told it was just an outbreak of demonic cultivators and a horde of corpses.

The next most-disturbed person in the room was Junmyeon.

With careful words he said, “I know that our past relations have not been great and I’m thrilled that you and Minseok have become closer. But in such a situation, we would have been at your doorstep with help. Regardless of what this one here says,” he gestured towards Minseok, “my sect will not waste a second to be there for yours.”

Jongdae smiled and nodded his thanks.

“Even if our relationship had not changed, you know I would support helping,” Minseok spoke with a confident voice.

He felt Jongdae’s grip tighten on his robes. Minseok took hold of Jongdae’s hand and held it within his own. Everyone in the room stared at the interaction for a second. Most of them were baffled as to why Minseok even deigned to be so close to Jongdae, so holding hands made their faces white with alarm. Baekho Ridge, the most popular and closely related to the royal capital, had defected against the people. Now, sworn enemies, Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae, were side by side, holding hands. It felt like the world was ending.

No one dared to gossip about it, though.


	22. Chapter 22

“Would you stay if I asked?”

Jongdae firmly shook his head no.

“Thought so…” Minseok sighed. “Then it can’t be helped. You won’t leave my side, even for a second.”

Jongdae smiled, feeling rather accomplished.

“You can’t be serious?” Junmyeon scoffed as he placed his cup of tea down.

They were all situated in Minseok’s room. Junmyeon and Minseok were seated on the floor, drinking tea, while Sehun and Jongin were gladly brushing Jongdae's freshly-washed hair.

“If Jongdae is up to it, then I will not deny him from going.”

“But he’s a patient! He is not fully recovered from weeks' worth of torture.” Junmyeon was quite livid with this foolhardy decision.

Minseok simply placed his tea back on the table and stared Junmyeon down.

“…That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Junmyeon rebuked.

“This isn’t my decision. He is aware that I'd prefer for he stay here, but he is his own capable person and can make these decisions for himself.”

Junmyeon was appalled by these words. “I said you two needed to have a long talk when you came back from the dead. Not fall in love with him! To think you hated the very idea of his existence two months ago..”

Uncomfortable, Minseok laughed Junmyeon off. Both Jongdae and Minseok blushed thinking about Junmyeon’s words.

“Don’t worry. We wouldn’t allow it.” Jongin piped up.

“Kim Minseok will grovel at our feet before he can lay his dirty hands on our brother,” Sehun continued.

With quick hands, Jongdae pulled one ear of each of the two braiding his hair. With quicker mouths, both stammered out their apologies.

Junmyeon let out a heavy sigh. “Fine.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But I hope that come tomorrow morning, when we leave, that you choose to stay. For your own sake.”

Jongdae nodded in a polite way to thank Junmyeon for his concern.

“If anything goes wrong with the decoy group we sent out to divert Baekho Ridge’s attention, I’ll notify you immediately. I’ll be retiring to my quarters for the night if you need me.”

They bid each other a goodnight and Jongdae beckoned for his two friends to leave as well.

“But,” Jongin started.

“Your hair—” Sehun tried to finish but Jongdae shook his head and urged them to go to bed.

.Minseok stood by the door and waited until their two loud voices had vanished down the hall to start removing his own robes.

Jongdae stood up from the chair at the bedside and tried to make his way for the door, seemingly in a rush. Minseok was quick, though, and caught his arm.

“Where are you going?” Minseok asked.

With a panicked glance, Jongdae eyed the door.

Minseok chuckled, “You can stay here for the night.”

Jongdae cleared his throat and tried to say, “But—”

“I didn’t prepare a separate room for you, if that’s what you’re looking for. Stay the night here. Sleep in my bed.”

Minseok completely missed how suggestive that might have sounded.

Jongdae swallowed hard.

“Don’t worry, you can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor. I’ve been setting it up like this since you’ve been here because I can’t sleep at night…” Minseok mumbled that last part.

Jongdae relaxed after a moment and made his way back to the chair. He remembered how each morning when they would wake up, Minseok had always been clinging to him like sticky rice. He secretly wondered if Minseok had the kind of personality that needed extra security to get him through the dark.

After Minseok mumbled embarrassing things to himself and hung up his robes, Jongdae patted his shoulder that had his hair draped over it.

“You.. you want me to... finish your hair?”

Jongdae nodded with the corners of his lips curved ever so slightly.

Minseok was glad to oblige, but he was terrified that he would mess up Jongdae’s usually perfect look.

His hair was already sectioned off and started with braids, all Minseok had to do was finish them and pin them back. The moment he ran his fingers through Jongdae’s hair, they both felt their chests constrict. Jongdae’s hair was silky and had the intoxicating fragrance of peony flowers. It was a familiar smell for Minseok even before his soul returned to his body. Jongdae often smelled clean and of sweet flowers.

Subconsciously, Minseok’s fingers lightly entwined throughout Jongdae’s hair, as if he were afraid of pulling too hard and hurting him. But the ginger grazes alone made Jongdae’s skin prickle with gooseflesh and his heart flutter.

Minseok’s mind wandered too far off, thinking about how soft and delicate Jongdae's neck looked. His cheeks were bright pink with his thoughts, so to stifle them, he quickly changed the subject.

“The maids will be here shortly. They’re brewing your medicine now, and hopefully tonight will be an easier sleep for you.” He finished both braids and carefully pinned them to the back of Jongdae’s head. “It seemed like you were in pain these last few nights.”

Minseok was no hair professional, but he could at least make a decent braid.

“There, all set. Just don’t ask me to put them in a bun tomorrow. I will for sure mess that up,” Minseok chuckled.

Jongdae smiled as he pulled out the jade hairpin he usually sported. He placed it on the vanity across the room and Minseok couldn’t help but feel that the pin was familiar.

As Jongdae disrobed and hung up his clothing, Minseok sat, deep in thought. Even when the maids came by to give Jongdae his medicine, he was still thinking.

“That hairpin…” he started. “It’s the one I gave you, the night you invited me to your opera.”

Jongdae froze, in the midst of forcing down the bitter tea.

“I’m right. Aren’t I?” Minseok eyed the pin for a moment. “At a quick glance, it really does seem simple and beautiful. But the more you look at it, the more you see that the craftsmanship isn’t as intricate and careful as you thought. It’s messy and a complete knockoff of the original. I can’t believe someone of your taste liked it enough to keep it.”

Jongdae sidled up to Minseok and said in a whisper, “You gave it to me.”

It took a moment before Minseok understood it but eventually he said, “You only kept it because I gave it to you?”

Jongdae nodded with a small smile.

Minseok scoffed, “If that’s your only reason, then allow me to get rid of it and buy you a new one.” He took the pin back, ready to snap it in half.

Jongdae, in a panic, pushed Minseok’s hands down and tried to grab for the pin. Minseok tried to pull away, but he was so afraid of hurting Jongdae that he let himself stumble backwards and topple over a chair.

Both fell, but Minseok was quick to grab hold of Jongdae to make sure he fell right on top of him.

Their legs jumbled together, and their chests heaved from the sudden adrenaline.

For a moment, they lay there, not processing what had happened. But eventually, Jongdae pushed himself up and locked eyes with Minseok.

The moment their eyes met, they became lost in a trance. Minseok went to raise a hand and caress Jongdae’s cheek but stopped himself before doing so.

In his free hand, Jongdae had been holding onto the hairpin and now he ripped it away.

“This is special,” Jongdae whispered.

He was quick to withdraw himself from Minseok and hid the hairpin away in his sleeves.

“Will you at least let me buy you a new one?” Minseok exhorted from where he lay.

Not daring to look back at him, Jongdae nodded as he sat down on the side of the bed.

Minseok sighed heavily as he got up and began making room for his own bed.

Of course, Minseok mumbled to himself as he did so.

“I can't believe you, the sentiment tied to that hairpin isn’t kind. It’s poorly made, it’s old at this point…” he trailed off, droning on about every reason why Jongdae should get rid of it.

Jongdae seemed content listening to him complain but did nothing about the pin. Rather, he smiled to himself and felt the warmth of Minseok’s care.

“Do you need anything before we go to bed?” Minseok asked as he tucked Jongdae in and made sure his pillow was comfortable.

Jongdae shook his head. His cheeks were rosy and his gaze was set on Minseok’s every little move.

“…Then.. get lots of rest. We have a long next few days ahead of us.”

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, not because they didn’t know what to say, but rather because they didn’t know what to do. Minseok couldn’t bring himself to leave. He had hoped that Jongdae would want to sleep together, but that was weird, wasn’t it?

They slept in the same bed because they had no choice before. Now, they had options.

It took a great deal of his being to turn on the balls of his feet and get into his own bed after blowing out the candles.

Jongdae tossed and turned in his sheets, constantly looking over to see what Minseok might be doing. Minseok, for his part, could not sleep, either. He heard every little move that Jongdae made and it made him anxious.

In a quiet voice Minseok said, “You should sleep.”

Jongdae paused, and for a while Minseok heard nothing. He closed his eyes and tried everything in his power to fall asleep. Then suddenly, he heard the soft patter of feet beside his head. Minseok’s eyes shot open to see what was wrong, only to find Jongdae kneeling beside his sheets and lifting them to go beneath.

“Wh-What are you doing?!” Minseok nearly shouted, his body temperature quickly rising a few degrees.

“Sleeping,” Jongdae whispered as he squeezed his way under the covers.

He pushed and he pushed until Minseok was off to the side and he was beside him. The bed was not very large, and there hadn’t been enough pillow space for Jongdae, yet he insisted on being there. Minseok gave in the moment Jongdae made himself comfortable against his chest, using his arm as a cushion.

Jongdae whispered again, “Just like this.”

Minseok felt frustration bubbling all throughout himself. Frustration because Jongdae was so maddeningly adorable and there were a lot of emotions flowing through him right now. And frustration because he had no idea what to do with himself.

After a moment of brooding, Minseok’s eyes eventually grew heavy. He snaked an arm over Jongdae’s torso and immediately felt how comfortable he was. He had missed this, being able to hold him like this while sleeping.

He pressed his face onto the top of Jongdae’s head and whispered gently, “Goodnight.”

⪡ ≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

When morning came, it took a great deal of effort to roll out of bed. Out of the two, Jongdae was the first ready to go. He stood tall and gave no outward appearance of any pain or discomfort. He seemed as regal as he did before he was imprisoned by Baekhyun. Groggy Minseok was thoroughly confused about it.

A few hours later and they had set out from the valley on their swords, headed toward the capital. It was a small group of trusted people that consisted of the prince, members of the Hwarang, Jongdae and his two little friends and Lu Han. Zitao was never far from Lu Han, however.

Lu Han had insisted he go with them. He couldn’t help but feel that his part to play in this was not yet over. Taotie was still at large, and he wanted to be sure the demon could never set foot on soil again.

Those who did not follow the small procession the night before stayed behind in their sects. It was important that there were enough cultivators protecting each sect.

It was nearly evening when they settled down in a small town for the night. They were a little more than halfway to the mountain, but flying the whole way would be too much of a drain of their spiritual power.

Junmyeon started, “There aren’t enough rooms for all of us. We’ll have to double or triple up. The prince will get his own quarters and the rest of us will split—”

But before he could finish, Sehun and Jongin had slunk up to Jongdae’s sides and claimed one of the room keys.

Both Minseok and Junmyeon were shocked by the sudden kidnapping.

“Well, I  _ was _ going to suggest that the four Hwarang room together, then Jongdae and his two friends and give the last to Lu Han. So, that settles it.”

Before Junmyeon could hand out the last keys, Lu Han was dragging Sehun and Jongin back by their collars.

“Change of plans,” Lu Han announced with a grin. “I’ll room with these two. Jongdae can room with Minseok, the rest of you can figure it out.”

Behind Lu Han, Jongdae poked his head out, looking for Minseok.

Minseok’s eyes glimmered with the sudden change and his body brightened.

Junmyeon frowned for a moment, but then saw the smiles and glances that Minseok and Jongdae were exchanging. His heart softened and he sighed.

“All right, fine. I’ve requested dinner just after sunset, so be back or, well, you won’t eat.”

Everyone seemed satisfied with these conditions, with the exception of Sehun and Jongin.

Before everyone could leave to do their own thing, Junmyeon warned them, “Remember, don’t go too far from the inn. Stay within the town. Do not let your guard down. I’m sure there are plenty of Baekho Ridge’s spies looking for us. Be on your guard.”

They all nodded to one another before dispersing with light chatter.

Minseok held out a hand for Jongdae. “Would you care to join me around town? Or would you prefer to rest for a bit inside?"

Jongdae smiled brightly and took Minseok’s hand without a second’s thought. He was quite refreshed, mostly because he flew on Minseok’s sword with him and barely used any of his own power.

They walked arm in arm throughout the bustling little town, stopping by small stalls to look at the local wares.

They were happily watching a vendor make sweets when Minseok leaned over and whispered, “Don’t be alarmed, but we’re being followed.”

Jongdae was aware of this already and nodded.

Junmyeon, Seulgi and Kyungsoo had been following at one end of the street with great curiosity. Sehun and Jongin were at another end, glowering at their every move.

“Let’s give them a show, shall we?” Minseok smiled.

Jongdae looked away and a light blush dusted his cheeks.

At the end of the street there was a small stall set up with a small number of accessories. The stall owner boasted about how her jewelry was the finest within the area and that she was surprised she even had anything left after today.

There were a few small silver hairpins, all of which were delicate.

“Have any lady-loves in your lives?” The vendor beamed as she held up a small silver pin. At the end of it was a budding rose with a small chain of smokey quartz hanging down from it. “This would be just perfect for whoever catches your interest!”

Jongdae frowned. Minseok chuckled as he took the pin and held it to the braided bun on Jongdae’s head.

“I think it suits you rather well. It matches your eyes.”

The vendor smiled brightly, not even realizing what Minseok meant by that. She gaped while comparing the pin to Jongdae’s eyes.

“You’re right! Would you look at that? Just beautiful, I bet you’ll have a hard time finding someone more beautiful than yourself, good sir!” the vendor complimented for good measure. It was mostly for a good sales pitch, but she did find these two gentlemen particularly attractive.

“That’s right. No one is more beautiful. You should hear him when he sings—”

Jongdae, outraged, yanked on Minseok’s arms and pulled him away from the stall. Just as he went to leave, a group of children ran by, laughing and playing and running straight into Jongdae’s legs. Two of them tumbled to the ground, while the other three were quick enough to avoid the collision and ran on.

Jongdae tripped over his feet while trying to dodge the children, but Minseok was quick to catch him.

“Hey! Watch it!” Minseok shouted with quite the severe look on his face.

The kids on the ground were frightened and scrambled to their feet to follow the others.

“These damn punks…” Minseok muttered as he lifted Jongdae up.

Their faces were just inches apart and Minseok felt his head go dizzy.

“A-Are you all right?” Minseok managed to ask.

Jongdae nodded and they quickly broke apart from one another.

A few other people jogged by, adults and kids alike. They all had an excited air about them.

Jongdae was intrigued by this and started to follow the crowd of people. A small gathering surrounded a person whose voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear. Jongdae quickly spotted Lu Han with Sehun and Jongin and made his way next to them.

Both Sehun and Jongin went to sob and hug their senior brother, but Lu Han was quick to block.

“Guys, look. She’s going to exorcise that walking corpse,” Lu Han exclaimed as he redirected Sehun's and Jongin's attention to the performer.

The lady was supposedly a wandering cultivator, however, just from the very crowd that she gathered, the actual cultivators could tell she was a sham. The corpse was also just an actor, dirtied up to look dead and chained to a stake in the ground.

“Behold, ladies and gentlemen! I present to you…! A talisman!” She whipped out a yellow paper written on with cinnabar. It just looked like a bunch of scribbles. 

She began to hop back and forth on one foot, reciting incantations as she waved the talisman around.

Junmyeon, Seulgi and Kyungsoo eventually snuck their way through the crowd to their friends and watched the show.

“This is what common people think of us cultivators?” Junmyeon scoffed.

Seulgi seemed the most intrigued. “Actually, her form is quite good. The way she lifts her knees so high in her robes is amazing.”

Kyungsoo nodded in agreeance.

Sehun snickered at their conversation. “Oh, please. You must never have seen dances from our sect.”

“Or us in general. Sehun and I are the best dancers of the sect,” Jongin added.

Both Seulgi and Kyungsoo stared in awe at the two.

Junmyeon and Lu Han were both engaged with the performance, Junmyeon more so with disgust and Lu Han in awe. He had been missing out on the world for five hundred years, so he was happy to experience any new thing.

Minseok grabbed ahold of Jongdae’s hand again and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Want to get out of here?”

Feeling his body go warm and his heart thump against his chest, Jongdae nodded.

While everyone was thoroughly involved with the performance, they slunk away, unseen. They both ran for a little while, down side streets until the buildings were sparse and the homes of the townsfolk were more common.

Knowing that they were going too far, they stopped to take a small breather behind a stone wall separating two lots.

Jongdae panted heavily and his throat burned. Minseok, panicked by Jongdae’s condition, sat him down at the side of someone’s yard and quickly went to find water. When he came back with a bamboo container of cold spring water, Jongdae was missing.

Minseok’s heart plummeted. He searched every which direction. He even called out his name in the hopes he was hiding on purpose.

The more he searched, the further from the town he was. He grew more nervous with each second he could not find him.

There was a barn with its door slightly ajar. Minseok’s instinct, for some reason, drew him to the door, so he inched toward it slowly.

“Jongdae, are you in there?” he called out quietly and readied his hand on his sword.

“I think I heard something over here, let’s check it out!”

“Quiet! Do you want Lu Han to find us and keep us from spying on them?!”

Minseok heard Jongin's and Sehun’s voices loud and clear from behind him. But as he went to tiptoe away and hide behind the barn, the door opened and a hand yanked him inside.

The barn doors were shut and locked quickly, and Minseok had no time to react when his body was pushed into a pile of hay.

“Jongdae!” Minseok exclaimed when he realized who was on top of him.

Jongdae covered Minseok’s mouth and shook his head.

“They wouldn’t be in there… would they?” Sehun asked just outside the barn door.

Jongin played it off. “No… They couldn’t stand one another two months ago. There’s no way.. unless…”

There was a light shake at the door, but it did not budge.

“See! It’s locked! Come on, they probably went back into town.” Jongin said.

“Yes.. you’re right. It just makes me uncomfortable how that fiend Kim Minseok is acting.. But yes, let’s go back. If we’re caught this far, I’m sure we’ll get an earful from Lu Han.”

Once their footsteps had faded away, Jongdae and Minseok relaxed.

It was a bit itchy, being poked by all the hay, but Minseok would be damned if he didn’t absolutely love the way the little bit of light peeked through the cracks of the barn and lit up Jongdae’s face.

Jongdae was flush against Minseok, his arms holding him up. Neither of them were willing to get up now.

“S-Sorry.. I thought.. you wanted to be.. alone,” Jongdae whispered.

Something snapped in Minseok’s head and he felt just how hot his body really was in that moment.

Jongdae made to move away, but Minseok wrapped his arms around his neck and kept him there.

Jongdae’s breath hitched with his shock.

“W-What..?” he whispered again.

Both of their bodies felt the other’s chest breathing harder and harder. Their hot breaths brushing up against the other’s face.

“For a while now,” Minseok started in a whispered voice, “I dared not deny that I am hopelessly, unequivocally attracted to you. I meant it when I said you are beautiful. I’ve never found anyone more beautiful than you.”

Jongdae’s breathing turned erratic.

Their faces had subconsciously inched closer, so much that Minseok could feel Jongdae’s breath against his lips.

Minseok spoke under a whisper, his voice barely producing a sound. “May I…?”

Jongdae did not hesitate and pressed their lips together.

It was a shock to both of them, the soft, warm feeling just pressed against one another. Neither of them dared to move in their shock.

They pulled away for a moment, panting, despite only having placed a peck on each other’s lips.

“Oh, no, that’s not enough,” Minseok breathed and connected their lips again.

He rolled them over to the side and took control of the kiss. Finally, there was more action, more lips moving with one another. Minseok brought a hand to Jongdae’s face and caressed it gently. Jongdae, after a while of kissing, wrapped his arms around Minseok’s neck and deepened their kiss.

Minseok felt so lightheaded, barely getting a chance to pause for breath while they made out.

The sun had long since disappeared behind the horizon and the two had begun to escalate to something a little more steamy.

Jongdae had been running a hand up and down Minseok’s side before slipping a hand under his robes. Minseok, knowing very well how aroused he was from making out for so long, grabbed hold of Jongdae’s hand and pulled it out.

He sat up straight and noticed how dark the inside of the barn was.

“We’re late!” Minseok exclaimed.

Both of their robes and hair were ruffled and filled with hay, but the hazy look in Jongdae’s eyes was more alluring than any curfew.

Minseok leaned back down and peppered Jongdae’s face with gentle kisses. He could tell Jongdae was a little irritated.

“N-Not now. Not here. We can.. we can continue after we return to our room.”

Reluctantly, Jongdae nodded and the two of them took a moment to fix themselves up before heading back to the inn. Minseok walked a little behind Jongdae, lost in his thoughts about what had just happened between the two of them.

He was slightly panicked over whether Jongdae would be too upset with him later, but mostly, he was panicking about  _ after dinner _ . The last thing he wanted was for Jongdae to think that he was only after his body. Sure, Minseok has years of sexual attraction to Kim Jongdae buried deep down in his heart, but there was so much more going on outside of that. 

Minseok knew he had no right to love Jongdae, that he had no right to even be friends. But he could not deny how he wanted to care for Jongdae was more real than he let on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY FINALLY KISSED. IT TOOK 22 CHAPTERS FOR THIS. I'M SORRY. 
> 
> THIS SLOW BURN IS WORSE THAN MXTX'S, I'M REALLY SORRY.


	23. 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence, gore
> 
> this chapter is another doozy

The next day, Jongdae and Minseok arrived at the base of the mountain just behind Yonggang City. Minseok was irritable the whole ride over, and Jongdae was particularly quiet.

No one could miss the bits of missed hay and crinkled robes when Minseok and Jongdae returned the night before. Which earned an earful from Junmyeon, Sehun, and Jongin, and it was decided Jongdae and Minseok would sleep separately. The four members of the Hwarang slept in one room, while Jongdae, Sehun, Jongin and Lu Han slept in the other.

Sleeping apart from Jongdae meant Minseok did not get a good night of sleep, nor continue their moment of passion. His attitude was rather... _poor_ because of it.

It was midday when they stood before the mountain. Massive boulders that were formed from landslides decorated the ground.

Seulgi, Kyungsoo, Jongin and Sehun were quick to survey the area and make sure they were not being watched. The prince stood before two great boulders, staring at the mountain the entire time those four were gone.

“So, are we just going to sit here and wait? It’s a mountain, we should start climbing now if we want to get anywhere,” Minseok groaned.

“It is not up the mountain we travel, but through it,” Prince Woosung cryptically said.

Minseok was stunned by this for a moment.

“Nobody said anything about going through a mountain.”

Junmyeon retorted, “In all fairness, he _did_ say the flowers survived off of an underground spring. I just assumed you knew that meant we were going below ground.”

“How was I supposed to know that?! I figured someone regularly watered the flower with the springs from the mountain.”

“Do you wish to stay here?” The prince turned to face Minseok.

“I…” Minseok stepped back. He then felt a warm hand clasp his own.

He looked over and saw that Jongdae was there, smiling comfortingly for him.

“I’ll go..” he finally mumbled.

The four cultivators surveying the area all returned with the same report: it was clear, eerily clear. So they all proceeded with caution.

The prince raised an arm while holding his twin dragon seal toward the side of the mountain.

Immediately, the two massive boulders shook with great power before they slowly parted. Everyone, aside from the prince, was amazed by the moving rocks. The two boulders revealed a passageway, one that could only be accessed with the dragon seals of the royal family.

Sconces of fire lit up two by two down the dark passageway. Minseok’s face went pale just looking at it.

Jongdae, still holding onto Minseok’s hand, felt how his grip tightened. Jongdae was quick to cup his other hand around Minseok’s to comfort him. It was the extra boost of support that Minseok needed.

He straightened his back and took in a deep breath before calling out an order.

“Bae Seulgi, Do Kyungsoo.”

Both cultivators bowed their heads to Minseok.

“Stay out here. Stop anyone who tries to follow us.”

“Yes, Leader!” the two chimed at the same time.

Jongdae gave a side glance to both Jongin and Sehun. The two nodded their heads and were quick to stay behind.

Crown Prince Woosung walked into the cave, grabbed one of the sconces and did not turn back. His voice echoed as he called out to the ones behind, “The door will close once we have entered. It will not open unless I tell it to or someone uses great force. Make sure no one makes their way in.”

The four left behind all nodded.

With that, the rest of the group entered the cave and the boulders were shut tight behind them.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

“You’ve been walking for hours like that, aren’t you hot?” Junmyeon bemoaned as he glanced at Jongdae and Minseok.

“Shut it!” Minseok snapped.

He and Jongdae were walking tightly arm in arm, Minseok holding on as if his dear life depended on it.

Lu Han was quick to change the subject. “Kim Junmyeon, I’ve heard word from around your sect that you specialize in fan dances. Is this one of the legendary fans from your sect?”

Junmyeon, no stranger to gloating or being praised, soon forgot about Minseok and Jongdae and engaged with Lu Han’s curiosity.

Not long after, Junmyeon sidled up to Minseok and whispered, “Something's not right here.”

“I know.”

“Something hasn’t been right since the prince first showed up.”

Junmyeon and Minseok exchanged a look between them and nodded.

“Just keep playing along for now. It will get us somewhere,” Minseok warned.

“How are you feeling, by the way? You don’t look as bad as you usually do,” Junmyeon asked with genuine concern for his old friend.

“I’m all right… Just don’t let it get any smaller in here…”

Junmyeon nodded and left the two to go back with Lu Han.

The passage was long and declined slightly, as if to go further underground. There were no other passages, no other doors, just the one they walked along for a few hours.

At the end of the hall was another large door, extravagantly detailed in gold. The air there was light and the area thick with spiritual energy. There was nothing out of the ordinary, which was more alarming to the four cultivators.

“We’re here,” the prince announced as he stopped before the golden door.

The design on the door was an extravagant depiction of a dragon surrounding a bed of flowers. The eyes of the dragon itself were in the same shape of the flowers.

“I’ll have to trouble you all for help once again. Usually, I have my Royal Guard to help me open this door. My seal alone was not meant to open this door. I need the extra power of my cultivator guards to help,” the prince spoke as he kept his back towards the four.

“So, this is what you really wanted us for?” Minseok remarked.

“…Yes.”

Minseok sighed. “So be it. I will help you.”

Junmyeon, Jongdae and Lu Han each agreed to help and stood two on either side of the prince. The prince held up his twin dragon seal and the four cultivators at his sides all focused their power into the seal. The dragon’s eyes glimmered, and its body scrunched out of the way so that door could slowly open.

It was a slow process, but during it, Minseok felt something was off. He felt the slight presence of a demon amidst all the spiritual energy in the room. He was quick to react and grabbed hold of the prince’s hand that held onto the seal.

Everyone was stunned by this action but did not stop the flow of power.

“Unhand me,” Prince Woosung commanded.

“You’re not the Crown Prince,” Minseok muttered.

The doors opening were far too loud for anyone outside of the prince to hear.

The prince smirked and pulled his arm from Minseok’s grasp. The aura emanating from the prince changed in a flash as he unmasked the demonic energy hiding in his body.

Everyone quickly stopped pouring their energy into the seal and backed away. The door had finished opening, though—they were too late to prevent it from going any further.

The demonic energy radiating off of the prince intensified and caused the four to back away. It was a suffocating feeling that affected their own energy. Minseok remembered quite well who this energy belonged to.

“Taotie!” Lu Han exclaimed as he put himself in front of the demon.

Junmyeon and Jongdae were not as familiar with the situation, but were quick to make their guesses.

“What have you done with the prince?!” Minseok shouted as he stood in front of Jongdae.

An awful laugh emanated from the prince’s throat. “Nothing much. Just using his body to get what I want.”

“Possession!” Junmyeon exclaimed. “How dare you lay your hands on the Crown Prince?!”

“How dare I? It’s quite simple. I’ve been burrowed inside of his body for a few years now. The body you saw inside Lu Han’s realm wasn’t the only part of me. I’ve taken careful precautions to keep myself thriving, and by claiming the body and prowess of the Crown Prince, I am so much closer to becoming whole again.”

The prince’s body convulsed suddenly, his head bent back and his mouth opened wide. Out came an overgrown appendage like a slimy black arm. Taotie could still be heard loud and clear without the prince’s mouth.

“This body grows weak, you see. It can only support a demon for so long before it naturally rots. That’s why I need these flowers that the Royal Family so greedily keep to themselves. And while my other body heals itself for another hundred years because of your involvement,” he spat at Minseok, “I will have to use this weak body to get everything else done.”

The appendage leaking out from the prince’s mouth slammed its palm on the ground, using it to propel itself towards the four horrified cultivators. They stepped backwards, Minseok taking extra care to keep Jongdae protected.

“This must be the Kim Jongdae I’ve heard so much about.” Taotie’s cunning voice felt wrong on everyone’s ears. “I wanted to personally thank you for all that you’ve done for my cause. That little cretin subordinate of mine, Byun Baekhyun, suggested years ago that we use you to feed me large amounts of souls. I never would have thought he would be right. Had it not been for this barbarian, now trying so desperately to hide you from me, we could have gone on for a few years with no interruptions.” 

Taotie snickered; it was a sick sound of disease. “Oh well, that’s no matter. Since Byun ingested a piece of my body years ago, I control much of his actions, now, anyways. He’ll be a mindless puppet of mine before I’m whole again.”

The rage boiling in Minseok rose to his chest, he yelled, “What was the point of luring us here if this was all you wanted? You could have used Baekhyun instead of us!”

“You’re absolutely right.” With a swing of the appendage, it came crashing through the hall and created a cloud of dust and rock. “But I wanted to get you all inside the flower room before locking it. That way I could kill you with no problem. You’ve been a thorn in my side for a while now, and I’d like to permanently keep you dead. Rip your body limb from limb and devour it so that nothing remains. Then, I’ll consume your soul and it will be like you _never existed at all_.”

“You bastard!” Junmyeon gritted his teeth.

Everyone had long since drawn their swords. Taotie was outnumbered four to one, but this was no ordinary demon. If he could break off a piece of himself for others to ingest and still be sentient, it was important they were extra careful about getting too close to him.

“Do you think the Crown Prince is still in there? Can we save him?” Lu Han shouted across the hall to the others.

Minseok responded, “It’s too hard to tell. We have to try and separate Taotie from the body first.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Taotie seethed as his appendage grew three more arms and violently pinned everyone but Minseok to the wall. “Tell me, Lu Han, how is that rat friend of yours? Why isn’t he here?” His words were clearly taunts, which were easy for Lu Han to ignore.

Minseok dodged Taotie’s initial attack. Gwangseon clashed and blocked as much as possible but for some reason, the demon was faster than before.

Lu Han easily freed himself, slipping his acupuncture needles through his fingers and sending them into the appendage. This bought him a few seconds and he was able to free Junmyeon. Minseok was about to help Jongdae out when he freed himself with no trouble.

The four of them bounced around the cave, running from Taotie’s extremities or engaging in combat with them. Jongdae’s swordsmanship was no joke, but in his current condition, Taotie’s advances were a lot on his body. His footing broke and he lost the rhythm of blocking the dark limb. It wrapped around Jongdae’s neck this time and slammed him back into the rock wall.

Minseok, a hair too late to react, intervened and landed a swift slice at the limb that held Jongdae down. Minseok caught Jongdae in his free arm and supported him while blocking Taotie’s furious attacks. At this point, all of the appendages had focused on Minseok. Taotie was infuriated and screamed in agony.

“How _dare_ you! You worthless bastard! It must be terrible for you to know that your friends waiting outside the mountain have all been spent! Those ingrates from Baekho Ridge have probably surrounded the mountain already.”

Enraged by his words, Minseok swung his sword skillfully and severed three of the appendages in one go.

Taotie’s horrible screams filled the hall.

Junmyeon and Lu Han had taken the opportunity to stand behind the prince’s lifeless body. The fear in his eyes was enough to show that there was still a living human being within despite the demonic arm protruding from his mouth. Junmyeon and Lu Han slapped two talismans on the prince’s body and held him to the ground. Taotie screamed and the main arm swung around madly, black blood spraying about. The talismans kept the prince’s body in place while Jongdae whipped his sword around and severed the main arm in half.

Taotie’s screams fell on deaf ears, especially as Minseok took hold of the shortened limb and began to pull. The talismans began to glow and Taotie’s cries became louder. The demon was being exorcised. It wasn’t until Jongdae added his strength and spiritual power that Taotie’s repulsive form was expelled from the prince’s body.

The arm was foul and flailed in Minseok’s grasp, like a massive piece of muscle trying to get away. It managed to slip free and continued to spasm where it lay on the ground.

“Take care of Taotie, I’ll stay with the prince!” Lu Han shouted at Junmyeon who still knelt beside the stricken royal. Junmyeon nodded and surrounded the arm along with Minseok and Jongdae.

Both Minseok and Jongdae had already started exorcising Taotie, but this small piece of demon, for some reason, was too powerful for just the pair of them. Even if Minseok’s body had significantly more power than before, it could not overcome the demonic energy radiating from the limb.

Each passing second was of no use, the arm bubbled and bubbled into a mass of dark, putrid limbs and eyes. It was evolving at a rapid pace despite the three cultivators trying to hold it down.

Suddenly, out of the mass shot a tendril that shoved Minseok to the ceiling of the cave.

“No. I will not play this game anymore. Your life ends here.” Taotie’s voice could not be heard by anyone else except Minseok. 

It was like suffocating on sludge, keeping Minseok unable to think about anything except the dirty feeling running throughout his body.

“Your body would have done very nicely as a host. Had the Crown Prince not possessed such a magnificently powerful soul, I might have used you instead.”

Minseok couldn’t even scream to drown out the noises in his head. This was unnatural. And unclean.

Then he remembered something from not too long ago. This was not an unfamiliar feeling. Demonic energy had flowed within him before and he had used it to his advantage. He had no idea how long he was like that, but in the midst of focusing that energy, he could hear Taotie screaming for mercy.

“ _No!_ ” Taotie groveled and Minseok’s body fell to the ground. Jongdae was there to catch him.

With hazed eyes, Minseok saw that beyond the cave hall, the room of flowers was a blaze of red fire. Amidst that fire was the scrawny silhouette of the prince, holding the torch he had dropped earlier.

“You _fool!_ ” Taotie focused solely on the prince. Lu Han and Junmyeon were quick to be at his sides while the demon dragged himself over. “My flowers! How could you destroy my flowers!? How could you destroy such precious flowers! _I_ could have been immortal!”

“Instead, you can perish.” With that, the prince fell to his knees and passed out.

Taotie screeched and went to attach himself to the prince’s body once more, but something wrapped around his body and held him back. 

“You heard the Crown Prince: he told you to perish,” Minseok said as he tightened his hold on the whip and ripped Taotie backwards.

The whip had been secured away in his qiankun bag, and now that Minseok had remembered its use and could focus the demonic energy within him, he used it to his advantage. Taotie’s body was pliable now, Minseok could thrash him about with just a flick of his arm.

“Impossible!” Taotie struggled to talk, let along fight against Minseok’s grasp.

Minseok had no more words for the demon and held him down for Junmyeon and Jongdae to exorcise again. But before the two could do anything, Taotie shrank to the smallest version of himself yet. He slipped out of the whip and was the size of an index finger.

“What just happened?” Junmyeon questioned.

Jongdae, Minseok and Junmyeon all gathered around the finger and investigated it.

“Did he use too much power?” Minseok asked.

“No! Get back—” Lu Han tried to warn them but it was too late.

Like a massive drill, the finger-sized piece of Taotie transformed into a thick pulsing arm and shot out of the ceiling of the cave. He disappeared into the earth, leaving behind hoards of dust and rock.

Then, the ground began to tremble.

“Oh, now what?!” Minseok spat.

Lu Han pointed to the burning flowers. “The spiritual energy is burning away inside that room. The mountain is no longer stable enough to sustain itself. We have to get out of here or else the unbalance of energy will collapse in on us!”

There was no refuting Lu Han’s words. The four cultivators carried the Crown Prince and made their way up the hall to the exit.

“Do you really think, Kyungsoo and Seulgi…?” Junmyeon asked in a meek voice.

Minseok wanted to comfort his best friend, he really did. But the four left outside had no idea what they would be dealing with. It was impossible to say what their fates truly were.

Jongdae’s hand had been clasped in Minseok’s as they spirited through the cave, and his grip tightened with his worry.

“Hurry.”

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

It was another race against time before the mountain passages collapsed. It was not easy, but thankfully, they made it to the entrance before they were buried alive. Junmyeon and Lu Han held the prince’s arm up while having him hold his twin dragon seal. The boulders opened, slowly but surely, just before the last bit of rock caved in the passage.

The five of them tumbled out of the entrance with a cloud of dust following them.

Lu Han and Junmyeon stayed by the prince’s side, trying to stabilize his condition and rid him of any lingering demonic energy.

Minseok and Jongdae focused on the next task: to look for their friends. Minseok called out each of their names, noticing that none of them were in the area.

Just then, the sound of clashing swords caught their attention and they dashed off through the forest. It was nearby, thankfully, but the closer they got, the more heavily they could feel demonic power.

In a clearing, Minseok and Jongdae could see two people in white robes hiding behind a fallen tree. As they neared, they could see two more cultivators battling within the forest. Seulgi and Sehun were in heated combat, holding back mutated Baekho Ridge cultivators. They had small mutations that only consisted of a hand or an arm transformed to large, dark masses of skin. They could use these mutations like Taotie but on a much smaller scale, sending out tendrils of the mass to attack.

There were many of the Baekho Ridge cultivators, and Seulgi and Sehun looked worn down from fighting.

Behind the log, a wounded Kyungsoo was tending to an even more severely wounded, unconscious Jongin. Jongin’s head had been slashed down to his cheek while Kyungsoo had suffered a few smaller slashes to his arm and leg. Jongdae was quick to help Kyungsoo stop the bleeding and wrap Jongin’s wound.

“What happened?” Minseok asked in a rush.

“Not long after you closed the entrance, Baekho Ridge cultivators attacked.”

“You’ve been fighting them for hours, then?!” Minseok exclaimed.

Kyungsoo nodded.

Minseok gritted his teeth. “These bastards…” He left the three behind the log and went to help Sehun and Seulgi.

His arrival was a miracle to the two, because he made quick work of the lingering Baekho Ridge cultivators.

“Thank you.” Sehun bowed and saluted.

“Took you long enough!” Seulgi panted. “I don’t even think you make the trainees practice for that long.”

“I’m sorry to make you wait,” Minseok apologized in a soft tone as he patted Seulgi’s small head. Her hat had fallen off and was lost within the forest now.

Sehun preferred not to stick around for their conversation and ran back over to where Jongin was.

“Will he be alright?” he asked in a panic.

“Of course,” Jongdae whispered for his friend.

Sehun visibly relaxed his shoulders, but seeing his best friend with a bandage around half his head made his eyes mist. He threw himself on Jongdae and hugged him tight, and Jongdae easily gave him the comfort he was seeking.

“Where’s Senior Brother Junmyeon?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Yeah, and the prince? Did you guys do what you needed to?” Seulgi questioned.

“Unfortunately, we did not do what we meant to.” Minseok gave them the grave account of what had just transpired.

Seulgi’s face dropped from her initial excitement, she grew quiet.

Sehun then asked after he let go of Jongdae, “The prince? Then he’s no longer possessed?”

“Correct. However, Taotie has possession over Byun Baekhyun. Who knows who or what else might be affected by him right now.”

Kyungsoo, Seulgi and Sehun all looked horrified with this sudden turn of events.

“N-Not everyone is bad under Baekho Ridge right now, right?” A weak voice coming from Jongin asked. “I had.. good friends in there… They can’t all have defected… right?”

Jongdae was quick to stroke the top of Jongin’s head and comfort him. Sehun threw himself at Jongin’s side and held his hand fast, asking him all kinds of questions about how he felt.

Minseok was despondent, knowing full well that he could not answer Jongin’s question. “I-I don’t know what Baekhyun might have done to them—”

“Then we need to get to Baekhyun, rid him of the demon and lure it out once and for all!” Sehun demanded.

“And how do you expect us to do that? Even if we manage to save Baekho Ridge, how do you expect us to lure out an injured demon? He’ll be hiding himself away!” Minseok exclaimed.

“Not necessarily,” a voice cut in amidst their bickering.

Everyone turned their attention toward the sound and found Lu Han and Junmyeon supporting the barely-conscious Crown Prince.

“The one place he’s been hiding for over five hundred years now has been destroyed,” Lu Han continued. “There’s nowhere he can hide peacefully anymore. He doesn’t have enough power to hide himself well, at least. Defeating him may not be easy; however, it’s not as impossible as it once was.”

Just then, an explosion sounded from the direction of the capital city and Tao suddenly appeared beside Lu Han, covered in blood.

“He’s destroying the city,” Tao announced to the group.

“Then we have to get to the capital!” Junmyeon exclaimed in a panic.

Jongdae perked up as well, knowing full well his mother and sister were still imprisoned there.

“Right,” Minseok nodded, “but we need to get the prince out of here. Kim Jongin, Do Kyungsoo, you as well.”

“I can fight!” Jongin straightened his posture but immediately winced in pain.

Kyungsoo tried to rise to his feet, but fell to one knee.

“No. You both stay behind, with the prince,” Minseok commanded.

“Excuse me…” the hoarse, weak voice of the prince called out to all of them. “But these are my people. I would like to be there for them.”

“Your highness,” Junmyeon began, but Lu Han stopped him.

“A king must tend to his subjects. We cannot simply ignore a royal request.”

Junmyeon chided, “No, but we can advise him otherwise!”

“You highness?” Lu Han directed the final decision to the prince.

It was a moment before he made up his mind. “…I will go.”

“Wonderful,” Lu Han smiled. “Zitao, stay behind with the wounded and keep them safe while they make their way to the capital.”

Lu Han and Junmyeon led the prince to sit beside Jongin.

“But I’m going with you?” The prince asked, confused.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have specified. It will be faster if the three of you don’t travel with us. We must hurry to the capital for the safety of the people.” Lu Han bowed his head apologetically and the prince accepted his situation.

“Seulgi, can you keep up with us?”

She pumped a fist and flexed a muscle before smirking at him. “The question is, can _you_ keep up with _me?”_

Minseok smirked back at her enthusiasm, but he could tell how drained she actually was.

Another loud explosion resounded throughout the forest and their hearts became restless.

“Let’s move out!” Minseok announced, and he, Junmyeon, and Seulgi made to depart with Lu Han.

Minseok walked in front of Jongdae before he could follow anyone.

“Stay here with—”

Jongdae cut him off with a gesture and held onto Minseok’s hand instead.

Minseok smiled softly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

With that, the two set off for the capital.

⪡≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣≣|̺͆⊫᐀᐀⫥ᴐ

The capital was a wreck. Many of the cultivators that had been imprisoned in the royal palace were now free and fighting diligently against a mixture of mutated Baekho Ridge cultivators, demons, and corpses.

In the center of it all was a massive glob of demonic energy, bubbling with arms and legs, eyes and mouths. It moved quickly, destroying everything in its past.

When they first arrived, they were joined by Master Shim. He and Lu Han left to take care of the common people and protect them from the demons. Junmyeon left to find his father and make sure he was fine, Seulgi staying by his side. Sehun was sent out to find the Lanling Jin cultivators who had yet to join the fray.

Minseok presumed Jongdae would join his mother and sister in combat, but he seemed little bothered by it. He was certain that the two could more than handle themselves. 

Knowing that the mass of demonic energy was Taotie, Jongdae and Minseok made their way toward it. But as they tried to engage the demon, Baekhyun and Chanyeol, with raging eyes, blew streams of fire from small openings in their fingertips in their direction. 

Minseok was quick to pull Jongdae out of the way and hide behind one of the pavilions.

“I had heard that you somehow lived despite being pronounced dead, _twice!”_ Baekhyun announced in a booming voice. “This time, I’ll make sure you stay dead!”

Chanyeol rushed around one side of the pavilion while Baekhyun cornered them from the other. Jongdae and Minseok were quick to respond, Jongdae lashed out with his sleeve to block Chanyeol for Minseok while Minseok used his sword to block Baekhyun.

When Jongdae’s sleeve met with a massive deformed arm protruding from Chanyeol’s back, he noticed the lack of a second arm. 

“Just let him die already!” Chanyeol growled while he used his one good arm to control the limb from his back. A fire raged in his eyes as he bore down against Jongdae. 

“Amazingly enough, my score isn’t with you right now.” Baekhyun smirked as he and Minseok clashed swords in a stalemate. “I promised my dear cousin he would have both of your lives for his arm.”

“Because that is an equivalent exchange?!” Minseok shoved Baekhyun back and the two of them took their clashing of swords to the roof tops. Sparks of pink and red flittered about, both equally at match in their swordsmanship. 

“Think of it as a long time coming.” Baekhyun’s sneer reached ear to ear and his eyes glossed over with a sickening evil gaze. “Don’t worry! We’ll make sure you suffer plenty. Especially after you cost me my most valuable asset!”

Minseok cast a glance to Jongdae. He was skillfully battling Chanyeol with his sleeves, Chanyeol’s advances were exceedingly aggressive. Minseok’s worries increased when he finally realized how familiar Chanyeol looked fighting Jongdae. He was the shrouded man who had kidnapped him from the monastery! 

“Ah, so the pieces finally click?” Baekhyun said. “Good, you should be worried.” He reached behind his back and Minseok reacted with the same.

At the same time a whip of fire and whip of black lashed out at one another. There was a thunderous snap that caught the attention of most.

Baekhyun was completely caught off guard and he leapt back on a roof to process this situation. Chanyeol was quick to be by Baekhyun’s side.

“What happened?!” Chanyeol rushed.

“He has a whip, but.. It’s also demonic. It’s not a spiritual weapon, how is he able to wield it?” The two rogue cultivators looked up at Minseok as he stood at the highest point of the main pavilion. 

From his elevated perch, it seemed as if Minseok was sneering down at the two, gloating in all his pride. This only caused Baekhyun and Chanyeol to rage on further. Chanyeol was about to set off and attack Minseok, but Baekhyun pulled him back.

“No! There’s something different about him, he’s more powerful than the last time we saw him. We have to distract him.” 

As they connived, Jongdae had jumped up to Minseok’s side. The two nodded and knew exactly what they should do.

The attack was no longer directed toward Minseok, but solely on Jongdae. They could tell he was weakened from the countless torture sessions.

Baekhyun used his whip to relentlessly snap at Jongdae. Minseok, remembering well the sting of it, was quick to block those advances and take Baekhyun on once more. This time Baekhyun morphed his body like Chanyeol, but with both arms this time. He was significantly more powerful than Chanyeol.

Jongdae was feeling the pressure of Chanyeol’s limb rapidly. He was growing weak with fatigue and his sleeves seemed no match for Chanyeol, the same method could not be used twice. Jab after jab pounded on Jongdae, causing him to stagger backwards with increasing unease. 

Seeing that Jongdae was slowly becoming overcome, Chanyeol laughed maniacally. Jongdae was quick to take an opportunity while Chanyeol was off guard and sent Cheongal out. With a flash of silver, his sword battered against Chanyeol’s deformed limb. The rogue cultivator was soon set back by the barrage of sword and sleeve. 

While the four were engaged with one another, Taotie continued to rampage through the capital. One by one, he bulldozed through buildings and into the main streets, snagging people with his putrid limbs and stuffing them whole into the mouth on his back.

“Byun Baekhyun!” Minseok shouted above their fighting. “You must stop this madness! Fight with us against Taotie or else he’ll destroy everything!”

Baekhyun convulsed with mad laughter. “You’re a fool if you think I’ll ever join you.”

“He’s eating your _own people_. People from your sect!”

Baekhyun screamed and attacked Minseok again. His eyes were wild with rage and his attacks were sloppy and violent. As their swords locked in a stalemate once more, Baekhyun’s clearly sweating face was right before Minseok’s. From this close he looked sick, with hollowed cheeks and dark circles under his eyes.

“Baekhyun, look at yourself! Is this really you?! Can you not see that you’re being controlled?!” Minseok tried so desperately to get through to his old friend, but Baekhyun’s mind seemed too far clouded with anger to respond. “What debt must be repaid?! What misdeed have I committed that offends you so much?!”

With that, Baekhyun snapped and the fire whip in his hand tightly circled Minseok’s neck.

“What debt? _What debt?_ The debt that my mother will never roam this earth again. The debt where you suggested we use all our troops on a main front, while my mother led a small group to flank our enemy. Instead, her small group was slaughtered. The debt where you thought no ambush could possibly be waiting for my weak mother and in doing so, she was murdered in cold blood. You _knew_ she was still recovering from the last battle. You _knew_ she wouldn’t have been able to survive against an attack.”

“How was I supposed to know that there would be an ambush for them? I didn’t suggest it to purposefully get your mother killed!” Minseok choked out.

“I should have fed that White Snake more corruption seals all those years ago. You and that _gisaeng_ of yours should have died in the mountain during the Mountain Guardian Trials. My precious mother could still be alive today!” Baekhyun seethed and he tightened the whip around Minseok’s neck.

“Your mother… chose to go..” Minseok desperately tried gasping for air. “That’s… not my… fault… Everyone knew the risk they were taking… The southern demonic cultivators… were stronger than normal that year. Your mother declared,” he choked. “She declared herself fit to go! The Taebaeksan, your father, agreed!”

The band of fire around his neck tightened to the point it could snap. It was so uncomfortable that he barely had any room to talk, as if any wrong move and Baekhyun would snap his neck.

“Thanks for reminding me of how useless of a sect leader my father is! When I’m through with you, he’s next!” 

Out of the corner of Minseok’s eye, he saw a flash of silver coming straight for them. Baekhyun was thrown off guard when Cheongal flew by, just missing his nose by a hair’s length, a few droplets of blood sprinkling his face, as well. That distraction was all Minseok needed. He cracked his own whip on Baekhyun and was released in an instant. A red welt was slashed across Baekhyun’s face.

Jongdae was not far behind his sword. His sleeves enveloped Baekhyun tightly and he called his sword back to hold against Baekhyun’s neck. There was something severe in Jongdae’s eyes, as if he was ready to slit that throat with no hesitation.

Minseok ran over and put a hand on Jongdae’s arm, “Jongdae! Calm down! He will pay for his crimes. Trust me, he will pay for every little thing he’s done to you.” 

Jongdae did not relax. “And you,” he said in a low and hoarse voice.

Minseok squeezed Jongdae more firmly, reassuring him that it would be okay.

Jongdae finally relaxed under Minseok’s touch, but the gift of peace was short-lived. Baekhyun started screaming and writhing in pain. Chanyeol, whose other arm had been cut clean off, was next, then the hundreds of others under Taotie’s influence started screaming. The whole palace was riddled in screaming cultivators, dropping their weapons and twisting on the ground like thrashing snakes.

“ _Minions! Fetch me souls! I crave souls!”_ Taotie’s monstrous and vile voice echoed throughout Yonggang City.

Minseok had a sudden realization. “He’s weak!” he exclaimed. “His worldly form must be expending so much power that it can’t sustain itself! We have to keep all the demons and Baekho Ridge cultivators from killing people!”

“It’d be nice if he could use that awesome voice of his!” a familiar voice sounded from behind.

Yixing, Yifan and the other Lanling Jin cultivators were finally free amongst the fray, thanks to Lu Han. Now they were aiding the defense of those who needed it.

“Leave that part to us. You and Lu Han can deal with Taotie,” Yifan said. 

“Right. Be careful, they’re under the influence of that demon parading through the city. They’re not in their right mindset. Keep them alive, if possible,” Minseok said quickly.

Just as Yixing and Yifan were about to head out, Minseok called after them. “I’m glad you guys are safe.”

They nodded all to one another, feeling the mutuality of being able to see the friends they once thought dead. 

Then there were flashing swords and blazing flames as Yifan and Yixing chased Baekhyun and Chanyeol through the city.

Yixing meant no harm by his words, but Jongdae was left frozen, distraught with guilty memories.

Minseok stood in front of Jongdae and cupped his face. He smiled for Jongdae and made sure that there was nothing else but himself in Jongdae’s view.

“He doesn’t know… And you know that you will never use your voice like that again.” Minseok leaned in and whispered, “ _Ever._ I won’t allow it. No one will ever get close enough to you to coerce you to do such a thing so against your nature.”

In a trembling and whispered voice, Jongdae said, “But how do you know that? What if—”

“I know because I will be only a shout away from you from now on. I won’t let anyone threaten you in such a way.”

Jongdae let out a shaky breath. “Every day?”

“Every day.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Minseok leaned in and left a delicate kiss on top of Jongdae’s forehead. The battle still raged around them, but for the moment, the two of them were in their own tranquil world.

Lu Han smiled at their intimacy and sighed. “I hope the two of you are happy. Take care of each other. And never forget one another, okay?”

“I don’t plan on it,” Minseok whispered, snaking an arm around Jongdae’s waist.

Jongdae nodded at Minseok with the same determination in his eyes. With renewed resolve, the three of them headed out for the mass of limbs trudging through the capital. 

As soon as they arrived, they found Taotie not only eating the common people, but even the subordinates that fed him. All the demons and small monsters that he had summoned scampered away in fear, fleeing from his hunger. But Minseok stood in his direct line of travel, unafraid, with a challenge in his eyes and his chest high and firm.

Taotie said nothing and instead shot several of his limbs at Minseok. There was no playing around this time—Taotie was out to kill. Minseok dodged the attack, dancing back just out of range, smiling grimly when Taotie slithered forward and shot his twisted limbs out at him again. The hunger of greed and rage blinded Taotie to Minseok’s ruse, chasing the continuously-evading cultivator out of the capital and toward the mountain. It was difficult, keeping Taotie’s focus yet making sure no one was injured as the furious demon staggered through the city. As Minseok led Taotie, Lu Han and Jongdae worked ceaselessly to remove anyone from the demon’s path. This included the walking corpses that had been roaming the forest outside the capital. 

The dead bodies of rounded-up civilians that had been dumped into massive graves in the forest had been reanimated by the rogue Baekho Ridge cultivators. They were an additional army to fight against the cultivators that wanted to stand up against them. Now that Taotie was using his power to control all those who consumed a piece of him, they were wandering around aimlessly without proper masters to tell them what to do. They were too many for just Jongdae and Lu Han to move, since they were innocent corpses that once belonged to families. Lu Han transformed into his owl and was able to grab more corpses to drop out of the way. However, it still wasn’t enough. These were the corpses of people from years of gathering, corpses that had probably traveled form far south to meet in the capital with the rest of the corpse army.

Minseok took out his whip once more and whirled it around, high in the air. Gathering all the demonic energy he could muster in it, he used the whip’s power to beckon the rogue corpses. This whip was used to herd the souls of the dead in Lu Han’s realm, Minseok figured it could be used the same against corpses. His theory was correct. The corpses were controlled by the demonic power of the whip and moved out of the way. This left Lu Han and Jongdae to focus on the humans in the way. 

However, something was not right with Minseok. 

Although his body was stronger than before, it was not impervious the copious amounts of demonic energy he was drawing from the whip. Because this was the most Minseok had ever needed to call upon the demonic energy, his mind and body could not fight its consumption.

The corpses Jongdae and Lu Han were in the midst of gathering became savage, writhing in their grasps and screaming to kill. Lu Han dropped the corpses in his claws and Jongdae stood off to the side, readying himself to fight if he needed to. Both cultivators were confused by the sudden change, they thought the Baekho Ridge defectors might have gained consciousness and were in the area controlling the corpses. 

It wasn’t until Taotie’s cold laugh reverberated in their ears that they saw what was happening. The demon had stopped before Minseok’s lone figure on the forest path, his body vibrating with each laugh that left his nasty, defiled, mouth.

 _“So that demonic whip was finally too much for you? Heheheh, let’s see how your friends deal with you now.”_ Taotie shot one of his tendrils in Minseok’s ear and the man was consumed with the demon’s evil. 

Minseok’s eyes went pitch black and the whip in his hand grew two sizes bigger. By his ear, dark veins of Taotie’s evil essence spread to other parts of his body. Minseok had been infected with Taotie’s poison.

Jongdae, panicked by this turn of events, ran out into the path and stood before Minseok. He watched as Minseok twitched and his right arm, holding the demonic whip, began to deform into a large black limb. 

_“Kill them.”  
_

[♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs2r55kkobQ)

One foot, slowly, after the other, Minseok walked for Jongdae. Minseok raised the whip in his hand and let it crack with an explosion of demonic energy. The blast made both Jongdae and Lu Han shudder at the unpleasant and overwhelming feeling. The blast of sinister energy was enough to light fire to the surrounding trees. The dry leaves of autumn went up in a scourge, and it wasn’t long before tree after tree caught fire down the path. In the next moment, Minseok and Jongdae were engaged with one another.

Minseok battered his whip against Jongdae’s sword, pushing him down the path at an unfair advantage. 

“Minseok!” Lu Han called out as he tried to intervene, but Minseok raised his deformed arm and cracked his whip up towards the sky. A sea of corpses were suddenly all set upon Lu Han.

Jongdae wanted to aid Lu Han but Minseok kept at him, slashing against Cheongal with fast and furious power. 

Jongdae was so overwhelmed with Minseok’s advances. He knew that he could not yell and get through to Minseok’s possessed mind. His eyes welled with tears as he tried to call out to Minseok, but his ruined voice was choked more so with his grief. 

Minseok spun on the balls of his feet and cracked the whip against Cheongal, sending the sword halfway across the forest. Another crack, the whip slashed against Jongdae’s body. His perfect robes were ripped. Another crack, Jongdae’s palms were split into open wounds. He couldn’t even use his sleeves to defend himself anymore.

Two corpses were called over and took firm hold of Jongdae’s arms. They shoved Jongdae to his knees. He hung his head as the foul stench of the corpses and smoke engulfed his nose. The fires raged all around them. Lu Han yelled over the crackling flames and roaring corpses, but he was easily drowned out. 

Minseok stood before Jongdae, his pitch-black eyes boring down into him. Minseok raised his deformed arm and wrapped the whip around Jongdae’s neck.

“I will throw away my immature, petty pride…”

Minseok froze.

“And fill the space with words of love I was too awkward to say…”

Minseok stood there, arm shaking as he held the whip taut.

“The long night melts away any hatred we had…”

Jongdae raised his head. 

“Isn’t that enough?”

Tears streamed down Minseok’s face. 

He dropped the whip and Jongdae took in a breath of air. 

_“No! Kill him! I command you to kill him!”_ Taotie raged.

The corpses holding Jongdae down suddenly dropped to the ground, motionless. Minseok stumbled back a few steps, his eyes flashing back and forth while fighting back the possession within himself. 

“Kim Minseok!” Lu Han shouted as he barreled into him. Lu Han slapped a talisman on his forehead and began to exorcise Taotie’s parasite out of him. Minseok screamed beneath Lu Han’s hold in writhing pain, but Taotie seemed worse off.

_“No! No! No, no, no, no!”_

Taotie charged forward, sending his deformed limbs to pick them up and eat them all in one go. 

But before that could happen, Taotie’s body was deflected. 

Minseok was back to his feet, the whip secured in his hands after having sent the massive demon back.

His eyes were no longer pitch black, they only glinted with the demonic power of the whip. Minseok reached up to his ear and pulled out the piece of Taotie that was weakened by Lu Han’s exorcism. He threw it to the ground and stepped on the black worm-like thing, completely disregarding it. 

“You’ve hit my last nerve,” Minseok said with a dark voice. “If you want any chance of living, you better start running.”

Taotie, feeling the murderous aura coming off of Minseok, panicked. He fled the scene like the coward he was and headed down the path once more, past Minseok and the corpses that scuttled out of the way before being eaten. 

_“I need more souls, I need more souls!”_ Taotie repeated over and over like a starved wild animal.

Lu Han, distraught by this, yelled, “What are you doing?! You’re letting him get away.”

“Lu Han, fly ahead. The old Royal Guard training arena is just down this path. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had something waiting for him. We’ll be right behind you.” Once Minseok allayed Lu Han’s worries enough, he transformed into that giant, beautiful owl and sped off ahead of Taotie down the fiery path.

Minseok turned around and all the corpses in the area dropped to the ground. He walked up to Jongdae with uneasy steps, afraid that he would scare Jongdae away. Minseok helped him to his feet and ripped off his headband and a piece of his robes to wrap Jongdae’s slit hands. 

“I’m sorry,” Minseok whispered. 

“Don’t do it alone,” Jongdae whispered back.

Minseok met Jongdae’s gaze with sorrowful eyes.

“I’ll help you.” Jongdae raised a hand to Minseok’s face and comforted him with a few strokes.

Minseok leaned into the touch, “He will pay. I swear he will pay.” He took hold of Jongdae’s bandaged hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

They did not linger in their sorrow but quickly followed Lu Han on Minseok’s sword. Because Minseok was controlling the corpses in the area, Toatie could not consume anything. His size diminished and his pace slowed. Without an influx of souls, he was quickly losing the energy he was trying so desperately to cling on to. 

At the base of the mountain was a depression cradling a large platform. It was a dueling arena for the Royal Guard to train. In the center was an array that could be activated by the power of many cultivators to trap and exorcize larger monsters or demons. However, this arena had been full to the brim with people.

Both Baekho Ridge defectors and captive civilians pooled the arena. The center was filled, shoulder to shoulder, with the blindfolded and bound civilians while the Baekho Ridge cultivators stood around the edges, keeping watch over the clearly terrified people.

“Minseok! Stop him!” Lu Han shouted from ahead in human form. “There’s too many people! They’ll all just be killed if he comes any closer!”

Minseok gritted his teeth and stopped advancing toward the arena. Thankfully, Taotie had been significantly slowed by his decreased energy. There was time to spare, but not so much that Minseok could stand and do nothing. 

The Bakeho Ridge cultivators at the arena had been preparing for Taotie’s arrival and began to make their way over. Lu Han held them back for a start. 

Minseok took a deep breath in. He took Bom from his shoulders and shot out five arrows toward the arena. A forcefield immediately encased the people within, protecting them from any harm that might come. He then tossed Bom and his arrows to Jongdae. 

“Jongdae, send out a firework. And keep anyone off of me.”

Jongdae’s gaze was firm on Minseok, his heart ramming against his chest, not knowing what rash decision he would make again. 

“Use Bom if you must.”

Jongdae went to go to Minseok’s side but a few Baekho Ridge cultivators had slipped by Lu Han and came right for them. He sent out a firework immediately, in hopes of summoning reinforcements, then took Bom and gathered spiritual energy into each arrow, successfully pinning the cultivators to trees or the ground by the loose folds of their robes. 

Minseok gathered the whip again, swinging it around and wrapped Taotie in a firm hold. He then jumped on top of a tree and anchored himself to keep Taotie back like a leashed dog. The demon was deranged like a bull, writhing violently. One person should never have been able to handle Taotie, but Minseok, amazingly enough, could. It was not easy though. However, this required significantly less demonic power from the whip, so Minseok could handle that, too.

In no time, a few cultivators from the capital had shown up. They were quick to clear out the civilians from the arena and helped Minseok hold Taotie down with their own spiritual ropes. 

“Once everyone is moved from the arena, you all here will hold Taotie down until I say so! The rest of you will stand in formation, ready to activate the array on the ground and capture Taotie in it!”

Like a seething, slime riddled monster, Taotie barked, _“Release me! Release me at once! Do you even know who I am? What treasures and power I possess? I will kill you all, I will devour you all!”_

With how violently Toatie moved, Minseok was afraid to leave the cultivators alone. Jongdae appeared by his side and took hold of the whip.

“Jongdae! Don’t, it’s..!” He tried to pull back, but Jongdae was insistent on staying.

“Trust me,” Jongdae said lowly.

It took a moment, but Minseok was able to nod in confidence and leave Jongdae to the whip. He knew the demonic energy in it would harm Jongdae, but Jongdae was a strong cultivator through and through. He could handle himself, even in a weakened state. Minseok left for the center of the arena and drew Taotie’s attention toward himself.

 _“You scum—”_ Taotie panted, tiring himself out even more from being restrained. He was reduced to half his original state. 

“No, _you_ scum. You’ve lived long enough! _Let him go!_ ”

 _“Insolent—!”_ Taotie lurched for Minseok, and the cultivators all released him. Taotie stampeded for Minseok and let his whole body fall into the arena.

Minseok jumped out of the way, leaping to balance on the very top of a flagpole that displayed the colors of the Royal Guard.

“Your greed ends here.”

The array etched in the stone arena immediately started to glow. From the sides of the arena emerged several cultivators, encircling Taotie completely. Lu Han, Jongdae, Minseok and the few other cultivators were not enough to hold Taotie down. Thankfully, not too long after, more of their friends arrived. Sehun, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Junmyeon, Seulgi, Jongdae’s sister, the leaders of both Jinju Peony and Mugunghwa Valley, Master Shim and a few monks from the monastery, and a few of the freed Baekho Ridge prisoners. With this amount of spiritual power, it would be nearly impossible for even a demon like Taotie to escape. However, his perseverance to survive and break through was strong.

Taotie started to push through. His immense last hurrah of power was almost stronger than all of the people combined. He managed to grab hold of an unlucky cultivator and shove them into his mouth.

Everyone supporting the array faltered for a moment, but Minseok urged them on: _“Keep the formation! Don’t let him intimidate you!”_

He then took back his whip from Jongdae and let the demonic energy of the weapon course through his veins. With a crack like thunder, he wrapped the whip around Taotie’s writhing form. Minseok leapt from the top of the flagpole and single-handedly held Taotie in place. With both hands yanking the whip back, he wrangled the enraged demon like a wild bull.

Even if Minseok was significantly more powerful than before and Taotie was being weakened more and more by the second, this was still more than he could handle. His feet skidded against the ground as Taotie thrashed violently in an effort to throw off the restraint. Bellowing with fury, Taotie tried to send out another one of his limbs to break Minseok in half, but Jongdae moved faster than the deformed appendage. He took Gwangseon and with a clean slash, the limb was sliced in half. Screaming, Taotie recoiled.

Jongdae then wrapped his hands around the whip beside Minseok, adding his strength to hold Taotie down. Even though Jongdae was not yet recovered to his full power and the demonic energy of the whip felt awful to the clean spiritual energy in his body, he stayed there by Minseok’s side, teeth clenched in determination.

More and more cultivators stepped forward to join the formation and added their strength to the effort to take Taotie down. Members of Jinju Peony that could, took out their instruments and played their songs of Rest to pacify the resentful and demonic energy emanating from Taotie. Even those from Lanling sect finally joined them and added their spiritual prowess.

Three incredibly strenuous hours later, Taotie was finally subdued. His limp form was nothing more than a body that had no hands or feet.

Finally, the malevolence that was Taotie had been defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know the music choice isn't part of the chinese inspo but it actually helped inspire the minseok being possessed scene bc all i saw was a demonic minseok surrounded by flames going to kill hehehe


	24. 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter than usual, but we're also at the end

The docks of the western border were bustling with cultivators, running back and forth with supplies and gifts to load on the ship. 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol had been tied down with spirit binding ropes, subdued of their powers. Chanyeol had long since passed out and lay in Baekhyun’s lap, while Baekhyun’s pale and sickly face stared off into the void. They were to be taken across the sea to the Central Plains, escorted by the Lanling Jin cultivators. There they would be judged for their crimes, then sent back to receive punishment. The Taebaeksan was a hopeless case. After his beloved son, Byun Baekhyun, openly defected along with over half of Baekho Ridge cultivators, his mind went numb. He was distraught with grief and shame knowing his son and nephew colluded with demons. After the death of his loving wife years back, now that his son and nephew were being taken away to testify in the Central Plains and over half of his cultivators were imprisoned or missing, the Taebaeksan was moved to a vegetative state. It was disappointing to see a once-great leader driven to nothing because of the inordinate amount of shame. It was too soon to tell what would happen to Baekho Ridge, or if the Taebaeksan would recover. However, amongst the cultivators, it was unanimously decided that Mugunghwa Valley Sect Leader, Jung Yunho, would act as Chief Cultivator until further notice. 

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Junmyeon asked.

“Unfortunately, we’ve spent longer here than we were supposed to. Before anyone wonders why we’re missing, I think it’s important that we head out now. Besides, I’m sure we’ll be back before you know it to give these miscreants back to your country.” Yixing directed his chin towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol and the many cultivators that had sided with them. They were all wrapped securely in spirit-binding ropes. “Then we can have an actual celebration.” Yixing smiled. “We’ll keep Taotie, though.” He raised the qiankun pouch secured around his waist that held Taotie’s restrained body.

“Is there nothing else you need from us, my friends?” Minseok asked as the deckhands of the large ship were busy loading up the prisoners and all the supplies for the long travel across the sea.

“Actually—!” Yixing started but Yifan cut him off.

“No. Thank you for everything you have already provided us with. We are only sorry we can’t be here, helping you rebuild.”

“That’s all right. You can just send us supplies to rebuild the capital!” Junmyeon laughed as he waved an arm jokingly.

“Oh, don’t worry! We will!” Yixing exclaimed.

“Yes, I will see to it personally.” Yifan nodded his head at them.

“Oh!” Junmyeon gasped as Minseok elbowed his side. “T-Then we look forward to seeing you soon.”

“The King and the Crown Prince are coming over, so you two better cut it out,” Sect Leader Jung placed his hands on both their shoulders to drag them away.

“Then we’ll see you soon,” Yifan said. He and Yixing both saluted politely before turning their attention to the royal entourage.

“I’m proud of you boys,” Sect Leader Jung beamed as they walked along the wharf. “I’m sorry your father here is so useless. I was kept locked up in that hall for weeks!”

“Yeah, old man. You know you let us down. You should just hand over the sect to me since you’re so irresponsible.” Junmyeon snickered playfully.

“You know that if I give you my position, you have to leave the Hwarang,” Sect Leader Jung casually remarked.

Junmyeon shut right up after that.

Minseok chuckled.

“Minseok, it’s good you’re here.” Sect Leader Jung placed a comforting hand on Minseok’s shoulder.

“You don’t want to know how I’m still alive?” Minseok raised a brow, surprised by his usually righteous uncle.

Sect Leader Jung shook his head, “I don’t need to. You being here is enough for me.” He brought Minseok in for a quick hug, pouring all his relief into the hug.

“Father, we’re not children anymore. We’re grown adults. You’re embarrassing us.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sect Leader Jung sniffled and faced his son. “I didn’t realize my children were so jealous!” He wrapped an arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders and pulled him away.

Minseok laughed at the two and left them to their bickering.

He found himself standing off to the side, watching a few Jinju Peony cultivators tend to the wounded Lanling cultivators that sat on the docks waiting to board. The autumn ocean air was biting against the skin, and the sunset gilded the gently rolling waves.

In that group of cultivators, there was one that Minseok could not take his eyes off of, unabashedly so. For the first time in his life he did not feel ashamed to stare so openly at this man. The wind gently tousled this man’s hair and the orange light trickled through it. His skin appeared to glow with the sunset and his robes soaked in the pastels of the sky.

The very breath in Minseok’s lungs had been drawn from his lips.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A woman’s voice sounded beside him.

“He is,” Minseok responded absent-mindedly.

“Hm?” The woman chuckled. “I’ve never heard anyone refer to the sunset as a ‘he’ before. Interesting.”

Minseok jolted and turned to see who was speaking. Standing next to him was Lady Myeongwol, Sect Leader of Jinju Peony.

He bowed his head and saluted her immediately. “Lady Myeongwol.”

“He is beautiful, though. Just like his father. Stubborn like him, too.” She sighed longingly at the thought of her late husband. “You’ll be a good friend to him, now, won’t you?”

Minseok, flustered, responded with, “Y-yes ma’am. I will.” Then he dropped to his knees in an apologetic manner. “Please forgive my past actions toward him.”

“You better stay down there!” Another woman’s voice suddenly blurted, and Minseok was kicked over to sprawl on the ground.

“That’s enough, Sooyoung. He’s aware of his mistakes.” Lady Myeongwol chuckled as she held her daughter back.

“It would be a huge jest if you think I’d forgive you that easily. My brother suffered plenty because of you!” Sooyoung struggled to get out of her mother’s grasp but the Sect Leader’s elegant looks hid her strength.

“But if you remember clearly, Sooyoung, Jongdae also engaged Hwarang Leader Kim Minseok in combat. He instigated their fights as well. Besides, it is not our forgiveness he must seek, but your brother’s. Let it be.” Lady Myeongwol calmed her daughter down just a bit and let her go. Sooyoung stormed off, grumbling under her breath.

“But be warned, Hwarang Leader Kim Minseok. If you break my son’s heart, I will break your face.” She smiled beautifully.

Minseok gulped and nodded in understanding.

Lady Myeongwol turned her attention back to Jongdae, who still hadn’t noticed them standing off to the side.

With the wind gently swaying her earrings, she said, “…Spoken word of day.”

There was a pause before Minseok responded. “…Consent.”

Without a sound, Lady Myeongwol turned on her heels and walked away.

Minseok stood there alone for a while, watching Jongdae with a soft gaze.

“May I have a turn?” Master Shim called from behind. “I promise I won’t bother you for long.”

Minseok grimaced. “You could never bother me.”

“Well, it looks like there won’t be much room for me at your side anymore.”

“What on earth gave you that idea?”

Master Shim stood beside him and looked over at Jongdae. Minseok immediately blushed. “Does everyone know?!”

Master Shim chuckled, “I mean, it’s not difficult to see. But I support you. I hope you win his heart over.” The smile he wore on his face gradually faded. “You just have to promise me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Promise you’ll visit this old man more often?”

Minseok sighed in relief before leaning over and hugging Master Shim tightly. “Of course I will. We’ll both visit more often.”

Master Shim wrapped his arms tightly around Minseok and buried his face on the top of his head. “I’d love nothing more than that.”

They stayed like that for a moment, talking about how long they would be in the capital before Master Shim headed off to help load the ship with more supplies.

Minseok finally gathered the courage to walk over to Jongdae, but Sehun and Jongin then appeared beside their friend.

“Looks like you won’t be getting his attention anytime soon,” Lu Han said, coming up beside him.

“I guess not,” Minseok sighed.

“Then take a short walk with me?”

Minseok had no objections, so the two took a stroll around the docks. They talked of idle things—about the rebuilding of the capital, what would happen to the Baekho Ridge defectors, and the scattered demons that hadn’t yet been rounded up.

“Zitao and I will linger a little longer in this country before returning to our own.. He’s decided to stay with me and help me hunt the last of those demons working under Taotie. I’d like to keep this world as clear of his as possible, so we’ll remain here for now to make sure that gets done properly.”

“That’s very kind of you. I’m sure it must be a bitter reminder of your pain,” Minseok commended him.

“Mn.. In a way. And this might be my way of punishing myself. But there’s only so much of this that was within my power and actual doing. I must use this time to reflect on those thoughts. I’m sure one day, I’ll be so ridden with grief over loosing Bei Xiong that I won’t be able to function. But right now, I am numb. Right now, I must take my days one at a time until I can forgive myself… This won’t be an easy road—”

Zitao appeared suddenly beside the two of them.

“—but I’m glad that I won’t be following it alone.” Lu Han smiled as he looked at Zitao.

Minseok kept to himself. He thought it was a wise choice for Lu Han to follow the path he’d laid out for himself.

The three of them had looped back around the docks and stopped before greeting Jongdae and his friends. They had been joined by more people, including the members of the Hwarang, Sect Leader Jung and Lady Myeongwol and her daughter Sooyoung. They seemed to be happily conversing amongst one another and Minseok’s heart swelled with happiness.

“Zitao,” Minseok called out before the demon left.

He turned with that unchanging expression.

“Take this.” Minseok handed him Jung Kai’s whip. It had shrunk down to its original size again. “I have no further use for it. It does more damage to my spiritual core than I would like it to.” Minseok said in a spiteful vehemence for the cursed thing.

Zitao accepted the whip silently, then looked to Lu Han to see if it was really okay for him to have it.

Lu Han just shrugged. “Don’t look at me. He’s asking you.”

Zitao nodded and attached the coiled whip to the side of his belt. He seemed… content with it being there.

Lu Han smiled and tousled Zitao’s hair.

“Well, we’re going to head back to the capital and help as much as we can before we leave. I’m sure we’ll see you there soon,” Lu Han smiled.

“Actually,” Junmyeon called out as he walked over to them, “he will be on his way to Jinju Peony tonight. He’s been requested to personally escort Kim Jongdae home, where he will rest indefinitely, until his full health is restored.” He draped an arm over Minseok’s shoulders and pulled him down playfully.

Lu Han seemed surprised for a moment, then his smile burned to something bright and cheerful.

“Then we shall see you later in the future. Thank you, Kim Minseok, for everything.” Lu Han bowed his head deeply. “I will be forever in your debt. You saved my life and I gained a good friend. I hope to one day repay you.”

“Yeah! You can start by telling us where the mountain your master lives on—”

Minseok shoved Junmyeon in his side harshly.

“That’s quite all right. Your friendship is enough reward for me.” Minseok smiled kindly at him.

“Then we’ll be off.” Lu Han saluted one last time before turning away.

The two had walked some ways before Lu Han called out over his shoulder: “Oh, and don’t ruin that body of yours. Make sure you make good use of what was given to you.”

Without waiting for Minseok’s reply, they went on their way again.

Minseok whispered, “I will.”

“…Did I miss something?” Junmyeon looked between the two of them.

Minseok rolled his eyes and let himself be dragged to where everyone was gathered.

It seemed surreal, seeing all these people who normally would not be together, enjoying idle conversation. Seulgi’s eyes were bright while she talked with Jongin and Sehun. Kyungsoo seemed just as intrigued. Jongdae’s sister scolded him as she tried to braid his hair. Both sect leaders were engaged in light conversation about how to deal with the distraught sect leader of Baekho Ridge. Everyone was getting along like nothing had ever separated them before.

Minseok frowned with the thought that the recent traumatic events could have been avoided if he hadn’t been so stubborn. If he hadn’t been so mean to Kim Jongdae for so many years. He was so caught up in those suffocating thoughts that he failed to notice that Jongdae had walked up to him until he rested a hand on his cheek.

Jongdae raised Minseok’s face to his and gazed lovingly into his eyes.

It was like a snap of the fingers—Minseok’s thoughts were instantly unburdened of his worries. His heart swelled with joy and his stomach filled with sweet kisses of butterflies.

“Kim Jongdae,” Minseok called his name out softly.

“Mn?” Jongdae responded just as softly.

“Kim Jongdae.”

Jongdae furrowed his brows.

“Kim Jongdae, Kim Jongdae, Kim Jongdae.” Minseok called the name over and over, relishing the way it sounded on his tongue.

Jongdae smiled at the silliness Minseok exuded.

“May I put something in your hair?”

Jongdae nodded.

Minseok pulled out a small silver pin from the pouch on his belt. It was the pin from the market the other day, with the ambiguous flower at the top and the small chain that dangled off of it.

Jongdae’s eyes widened with surprise. He couldn’t believe Minseok had actually bought it.

“I think this looks much better on you.” Minseok held the finally-replaced jade pin in his hands and admired how pretty the new silver was.

Jongdae seemed mildly worried for a moment when Minseok held onto the jade pin. So he rescued it, reaching around to put it in Minseok’s hair.

“Does it count as a gift if I bought both of them?” Minseok chuckled as he held onto Jongdae’s hand.

Junmyeon laughed at them from afar. “You look like you two just got married!”

“Shut your filthy mouth! So what?!” Minseok spat at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon’s jaw dropped.

Minseok turned his adoring gaze back to Jongdae. “How do I look?”

Jongdae took in a full breath of air and leaned forward to press their lips together.

Minseok, completely stunned by this, blinked a few times. His mind raced with knowing they were out in public, in front of both of their families and all their friends. But when Jongdae lightly sucked on his top lip, he couldn’t resist how soft and perfect that mouth felt against his.

Eventually, he wrapped his arms around Jongdae while he draped his arms around Minseok’s neck. They embraced for a good while, fully entertaining Yixing and Yifan who were watching from the ship. Everyone in front of them was struck dumb by the kiss. Most of their eyes were wide or their jaws were dropped.

Sect Leader Jung coughed and looked away, while Seulgi seemed to be the most excited of them all, even cheering them on.

Both Jongin and Sehun bit their sleeves in disapproval and tugged, wanting so badly to separate them. Sooyoung was less reserved, actually on her way to separate them when her mother held her back, shepherding her away.

Junmyeon just watched in shock while Kyungsoo seemed the least fazed. Only his eyebrows were slightly raised.

Minseok and Jongdae had no care who saw anymore. As long as they wanted one another, that was really all that mattered to them.


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smut!!!!

It was two full days later that Jongdae and Minseok were finally situated back in Jinju Peony sect. Specifically, at the villa that Minseok had woken up in all that time ago. It seemed so long ago, yet those days of being cared for were fresh in his memories.

Now they were finally alone. Albeit, not because they were free to do as they pleased.

Kim Jongdae was under house arrest. He may have been threatened with the lives in his sect, but he was still responsible for aiding in the murder of thousands of people. His punishment would be implemented after Yonggang City had been repaired and the cultivation world was no longer a mess. For the time being, Kim Minseok had volunteered to keep Kim Jongdae under said house arrest. No one had any complaints, afterall, this was Hwarang Leader Kim Minseok whose archnemesis was Lord Sungjeong, Kim Jongdae. And although those closest to Jongdae and Minseok knew that the two were no longer enemies, they were aware that Minseok and Jongdae took the most damage and were most affected by everything. It was agreed that the two were in need of a long-awaited rest.

When they arrived, the sun had already set, and they were quite tired. Minseok was quick to make them dinner and start tidying up. For some reason he felt panicked, like his heart was racing ever since they arrived.

Jongdae insisted he help ready their rooms or do something with dinner, but Minseok sweetly turned him down and tucked him away in his room with tea and snacks. It was a little annoying for Jongdae, but he felt the care behind the bossiness and allowed Minseok to pamper him some.

They sat down for dinner inside Jongdae’s luxurious room. It was extravagant, with high-quality decorations and furniture. It seemed far too lavish for his taste, as Jongdae never really cared for such material things.

Jongdae was dressed down in loose, comfortable robes. His hair was undone and draped over his shoulders and he seemed so raw and beautiful like that.

Minseok cleared his throat when he caught himself staring at Jongdae for longer than necessary. “Shall I run you hot water for a bath after dinner?”

Jongdae thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“I’ll use the spring,” he whispered, but he tried to use more of his voice than usual. He winced the moment more sound tried to come out.

“A spring outside?! It’s so cold out right now, you’ll freeze before you even get in!” Minseok protested.

“Hot spring.”

“…Oh. Well… Why didn’t you say that sooner?”

Jongdae shrugged before picking at the last pieces of rice and vegetables in his bowl.

“Hot springs…” Minseok said absentmindedly. “That sounds nice… I’ll go in after you, I suppose.” He slouched his shoulders and his cheeks went rosy just thinking about the hot water warming his muscles as soon as he sat down.

Jongdae seemed perturbed, like he didn’t like Minseok’s response. He finished his bowl of food and walked just a bit away from the table before he started removing his robes.

Minseok nearly missed it, until the last layer of fabric fell to the ground.

Jongdae’s bare backside stood before him in all its luscious glory. Well-defined muscles trailing down a smooth back to a perfectly round rear. Slender legs, sculpted as if a god’s hands had created them. And those ankles, lined with thin veins that circled around like intricate designs of embroidery.

Minseok swallowed hard, choking on his food. He slammed a fist on his chest to clear his airway, averting his gaze from Jongdae’s alluring eyes. Jongdae was clearly teasing him.

“A-Are you going for a swim?” Minseok kind of squeaked. He was both excited and more nervous than before.

Jongdae said nothing, simply grabbing a white under-robe to loosely drape over himself. He left the room with light steps, hardly making any sound. He left the room door wide open. It was a clear invitation for Minseok to join him.

Minseok let out an incomprehensible sound and slumped over the table, burying his face in the crook of his elbow. His body temperature was through the roof now, there was no way he was going to last long in that hot spring with Kim Jongdae.

It was a good while before Minseok mustered the courage to follow Jongdae. Of course, it wasn’t before he set up the room. It had to be  _ just right _ for their return.

He then undressed down to simple white robes and followed the short path and light smell of sulfur to the hot springs. It was a dreaded meeting. He knew what he wanted, but he was afraid to ask for it. He knew what he had to do, but he was afraid to do it. For the first time in Kim Minseok’s life, he did not know how to go about a situation. He had no idea how to profess the feelings he kept hidden in his heart or to apologize for every nasty encounter they had in the past. But then he thought about how after all this time, the two of them ended up here. After all Minseok had done, Kim Jongdae was still willingly by his side. If Jongdae had already made that choice, what was left to be afraid of?

The corners of Minseok’s lips twitched with these sweet and reassuring thoughts.

The more he walked, the more humid the air became. A light fog played on the chilly forest around him. The path was covered in decorative stones that indicated he was walking in the right direction. Jongdae had even lit a few lanterns on the way for him. Under the soft moonlight peaking through the lingering autumn leaves, Minseok found himself before the small hot springs.

Through the fog, he could make out a white-clad figure wading in the water. He could also hear a soft hum over the rolling water of the springs. It was a sound that made his heart flutter, but this time it had a hint of a forlorn feeling behind it.

The fog began to clear a bit and moonlight glistened brightly over the opening of the spring. The figure wading in the water was delicately brushing his hair, and the light looked particularly radiant over him.

The soft humming called to Minseok’s heart, so he sang the song aloud:

“ _ I will throw away my immature, petty pride, _ _  
_ _ And fill that space with words _ _  
_ _ Of love I was too awkward to say. _ _  
_ _ The long night melts away any hatred we had, _ __  
_ And isn’t that enough? _ _  
_ __ Let me stay by your side…”

With each lyric, Minseok closed the space between them until he was right against Jongdae’s back. Minseok held Jongdae’s shoulders and whispered the very last line in Jongdae’s ear. Jongdae shivered delightfully in response.

“I’ve always found this song… to be very pleasing. It’s a bit melancholic, yet when you sing it, there is so much yearning in your voice. Where did you learn this song?” Minseok asked as he nuzzled his nose into Jongdae’s neck, letting his breath roll over the sensitive skin..

“I didn’t.,” Jongdae whispered with another little shiver. “I wrote it.”

“You wrote that song?”

“I write most of my music.”

“It’s beautiful.” Minseok left a delicate kiss on Jongdae’s nape.

Jongdae relished those soft lips against his skin and hummed his thanks. “I wrote it with you in mind.”

Minseok froze. Jongdae noticed this and turned to face the stunned man.

“It was the only way I knew how to express myself. To show how I truly felt in my heart for you.”

Minseok blinked a few times, then relaxed his shoulders once he could finally wrap his brain around Jongdae’s confession. He cycled through the lyrics in his mind and his heart swelled more and more with the thought that Jongdae had written such a beautiful song for him. It acknowledged their combative relationship over the last decade, yet it was still full of yearning. Yearning for  _ him. _

Amidst these thoughts, Minseok suddenly blurted out, “Be my cultivation partner.” Then he quickly blushed.

Asking someone to be one’s cultivation partner was not lightly done. This was something couples did, intending to spend the rest of their life together, cultivating and night hunting. It may not seem so to an outsider, but it was a very romantic gesture.

It was Jongdae’s turn to be completely taken aback.

His reaction scared Minseok, unfortunately.

“I-I’m sorry. That was too much. W-We need to make up for the years of fighting and hatred and—”

Jongdae jumped up and wrapped himself around Minseok, legs secured around his waist and arms tight around his neck. Water splashed happily everywhere as Minseok caught Jongdae safely. Their lips entangled in a lovely kiss.

Jongdae pulled away and smiled that curled smile Minseok loved to see. “We can start making up for lost time by spending the rest of our time together. I will be your cultivation partner, if you will be mine.”

“I would love to.”

They pressed their foreheads together, both smiling broadly.

“How could I refuse a man whose swordsmanship almost equals my own? I’d be a fool not to partner up with him,” Minseok chuckled.

“You were quite the fool.”

The two of them laughed as Minseok twirled them around. He let Jongdae back down again, though they kept just as close to one another.

“I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, especially not right away. But I’m truly sorry for the way I treated you in the past. I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through. I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, and to give you my life as a gift for saving it.” Minseok raised Jongdae’s hand and kissed it tenderly.

“Don’t stay with me out of pity.” Jongdae almost took his hand back, but Minseok would not let go.

“I asked you to be my cultivation partner! Is that not enough reason to show this is not out of pity?” Minseok leaned in and started to leave light kisses all over Jongdae’s face. He started at the forehead, then kissed both eyes, nose, cheeks, chin and lastly, his lips. “Or must I admit that I do this to satisfy the secret yearning that I’ve felt for you for years?”

“Yes, you must admit it,” Jongdae whispered even lower, pecking Minseok’s lips between each phrase.

Minseok whispered, “I yearn for you.”

Their lips met.

“I’m happiest beside you,” Minseok continued.

Another peck.

“I wish to love you.”

And another peck.

“I wish to stay right here, at your side, for the rest of my life.”

Their lips met one last time, not parting again to say anything else. It was time to let their bodies do the talking.

Minseok felt the heat of the spring overwhelm him as they kissed. He quickly went dizzy with heat or desire, but he could not break away. Jongdae’s lips were like sweet rice cakes, so soft and so delicious in his mouth. He dared to open his eyes in the midst of their kiss and fell in absolute love with the rosy cheeks illuminated by the white moonlight above. Jongdae looked best in the moonlight, Minseok was sure of that.

Their arms wrapped tightly around one another and the kiss gradually became more and more intense. When Jongdae finally broke their kiss, his hazy eyes and light panting were all too alluring to Minseok’s foggy head. Jongdae slipped a hand under his own robes and let the wet cloth fall away into the water.

Minseok stood there, taking in how beautifully Jongdae’s pale skin glistened in the moonlight. Several naughty thoughts ran through Minseok’s head as his eyes fell over Jongdae’s collarbone, then trailed down to the pink buds on his chest.

With a choked voice, Minseok asked, “Are you sure?”

Jongdae nodded as he slowly closed the space between them again.

“And you?”

With a trembling voice, Minseok replied, “Yes.”

Jongdae let a hand slip under Minseok’s robe and made it fall into the water to join his own. Their robes were promptly forgotten for the rest of that night. It would be days before they went back to the hot spring to find them still floating there.

The two embraced one another again, skin sliding bare against heated skin, kisses growing harder along with their bodies.

Minseok took the initiative to nuzzle into Jongdae’s ear and leave rushed kisses there before trailing down to the supple neck below. Jongdae let out a soft moan while Minseok sucked and kissed the sensitive skin there.

Minseok knew Jongdae’s sounds would be hindered by his damaged voice, but he wanted nothing more than to hear Jongdae moaning loudly in his ears. The drive to hear this lead to the two of them pressed against one of the walls of the spring as Minseok very teasingly trailed kisses down Jongdae’s chest to a nipple. With his free hand, he groped the other pec, filling his mind with nothing but those firm muscles.

After getting a little tipsy listening to Jongdae’s soft moans, Minseok pulled away and grabbed his hand. He pulled him out of the hot springs and down the path back to the villa. They giggled and laughed with one another in their starkness, running along the forest path under the watching moon.

They made it back to Jongdae’s room, where low candles provided gentle light that flowed out into the night alongside the scent of mugunghwa and peony flowers. Minseok had set up the bed with sachets of Jinju peony and mugunghwa petals. The mood was set perfectly, so perfectly that they didn’t even acknowledge it. They simply fell into bed, kissing each other in a tangle of bare limbs, rolling around in the once-neat sheets.

Minseok drank delight greedily from Jongdae’s lips until he could not stand the urgency in his loins. He groped blindly for the nightstand where he had left a bottle of oils before following Jongdae to the hot spring. He was a preoccupied, fumbling mess and spilled the bottle of oil rather than managing to grab it. Chuckling softly at Minseok’s resultant frustrated huff, Jongdae pushed gently at Minseok’s shoulders, squirming from beneath him enough to tug open the drawer of his nightstand and pull out a bottle of peony-scented oil.

“…Have you… been preparing for this?” Minseok asked, slightly taken aback as Jongdae poured oil into his hand.

As if to tell Minseok to shut up, Jongdae simply reached down for Minseok’s length and slathered it with the oil. Jongdae had been waiting for this moment for far too long to be interrupted again. Minseok let out a strained breath of air on behalf of his already-throbbing member, panting further with each squeezing, enthusiastic stroke.

“S-stop,” he finally stuttered, wrapping restraining fingers around Jongdae’s wrist. “Let me—” 

Minseok took the oil and slicked his own palm, reaching to return the favor. Jongdae’s manhood was hot and hard within the circle of his fingers, and he smiled in triumph as Jongdae sank back against the pillow with a drawn-out sigh of pleasure. But that was evidently not what Jongdae really wanted.

Jongdae spread open his legs beneath Minseok’s awestruck gaze and used the residual oil on his fingers to coat up the small pink hole just below Minseok’s massaging hands.

Feeling the desire grow stronger in his stomach and groin, Minseok watched as Jongdae oiled himself up. When he finally slid a finger in, the discomfort on Jongdae’s face was apparent.

Minseok leaned down and kissed the corner of Jongdae’s eye. “We don’t have to do this,” he whispered tenderly in Jongdae’s ear.

Jongdae, in response, wrapped his free arm around Minseok’s neck and pulled him down into a deep, hungry kiss.

“I want it… I want you…” Jongdae whispered in a quivering voice.

Minseok left several kisses against Jongdae’s face, reaching down with freshly-oiled fingers to circle the too-tense entrance. It was clenched tight around Jongdae’s finger, but Minseok massaged the puckered skin and kissed Jongdae passionately. When the tension eased a bit, Minseok slid his fingertip in alongside Jongdae’s own, earning a jolt and a hiss. Minseok was deliberately slow and gentle, but the further he pressed inside, the more Jongdae clenched and whined at the discomfort.

“Relax, you have to relax,” Minseok cooed, adding another distraction by rubbing Jongdae’s length with his free hand.

He waited for Jongdae to relax before pushing his finger in further, murmuring soothingly and pressing kisses against heated skin in response to any gasp or hiss. But Jongdae had been anticipating this for so long, so he concentrated on keeping himself from tensing up and soon, Minseok was sliding two fingers in and out of the tight space beside two of Jongdae’s own. Jongdae’s hisses turned to breathy little moans, especially when Minseok crooked his fingers against a special spot inside of him.

Jongdae was at his limit, with the flexibility of a Sleeve Dancer, he lifted a heel to Minseok’s shoulder and pulled his own fingers free.

“I’m ready,” he rasped. “Please,” he begged. “Don’t make me wait any longer to have you.”

The sight of Jongdae so open for him was so stimulating that it drew a moan from Minseok’s lips.

“I want you,” Jongdae said in a hushed and sultry tone.

Minseok felt a shiver run down his spine and electrify him all over. “Oh, you can have me,” he said as he slicked his aching length.  _ “All  _ of me.”

Slowly, Minseok pushed inside, pausing every time Jongdae’s breath hitched or he clamped down. It was sweet agony for both of them, Minseok half afraid he’d succumb to the tight heat before he managed to get all the way inside and Jongdae having to breathe through the beautiful burn of the increased stretch. But he persevered, reminding his body to relax and accept the intrusion, because this was what he had always wanted. To have Kim Minseok moaning brokenly for him, pushing deeper and deeper inside what felt like Jongdae’s very soul.

At last, after over a decade of being divided by their own hubris, they were finally connected, united as one. All that long unrequited suffering seemed like nothing in just the blink of an eye. It was humorous, in a twisted sort of way.

“M-move,” Jongdae huffed, rolling his hips slightly to urge Minseok on. To that, Minseok was all too eager to comply. 

Minseok pressed all the way in, taking a moment for Jongdae to adjust again but his patience was running thin. The hot warmth engulfing his extremity felt like mind numbing bliss, all he wished to do was ram himself into that warmth, over and over again until he felt nothing but pure orgasmic pleasure. But there was another person involved, a person who he wanted to cherish and treat as lovingly as possible. Minseok waited for Jongdae to relax again and hunch into their connection.

The first few thrusts were met with more hisses even as Jongdae urged Minseok to keep going. Minseok reached between them to stroke Jongdae’s length as a distraction from the constant filling stretch, greatly encouraging his focus on pleasure rather than discomfort.  __ With each increased thrust, Jongdae started begging for more. There was a spot that Minseok had grazed and the more he hit it, the more Jongdae whined in sweet pleasure, begging for Minseok to hit that spot harder. So he lifted the heel from his shoulder and bent the leg even further back, leaning against it as he thrusted in and out. 

Their bodies were so hot against one another, each touch and tender graze left the sting of passion in its wake. 

Jongdae’s breathy moans turned into cries of pleasure, but they were rough and cracked. Minseok leaned down and lapped up Jongdae’s moans, hoping that it would quiet him. As much as he wanted to hear Jongdae moaning messily under him, Minseok knew that he needed to save his voice. It would be for another time when he could hear that euphoric voice gasping heavily in his ear.

“I knew we should have waited for your voice to get better,” Minseok panted wryly.

Jongdae had nothing to say to that. Instead, he leaned over into the pillow and muffled his moans there. Minseok helped, positioning Jongdae to lie face down while he thrust into him.

Each thrust hit at just the right angle, adding more pressure as he picked up the pace. The stimulation was almost too much for Jongdae, intense enough that he started crying into the pillow. His sweet and heavy moans into the pillow made Minseok that much hungrier to hear him cry out again. Minseok’s lust drove him to slam against Jongdae, showing no mercy while he hit Jongdae’s spot dead on.

Jongdae cried out, “Please, more! I’m almost…” But his voice could only take him so far before it failed, and his moans became more important.

Minseok held tightly onto Jongdae’s hips as he snapped his own against Jongdae’s pert rear. He was so close, he could feel it. He leaned over to reach for Jongdae’s hand, and laced their fingers, squeezing as he delivered the last few thrusts before Jongdae spurted against the bed. Watching Jongdae’s body twitch with his release made Minseok’s own climax come sooner than he expected. He quickly pulled out and let the rest of his spend fall on Jongdae’s thighs.

Minseok reached for the cloth he’d laid out on the nightstand, briefly wiping Jongdae’s skin before lying down beside him, both of them still panting away the euphoria leaving their bodies.

“Jongdae? Are you okay?” Minseok asked after a while when he didn’t unbury his face from the pillow.

Jongdae suddenly rolled over and straddled Minseok, kissing him passionately. Jongdae was very deliberate with how he was kissing, grinding his hips down against Minseok’s.

Minseok chuckled into their kiss.

Jongdae whispered, “I want more.” Then he bit the bottom of Minseok’s lip, tugging it as he pulled away.

“Inside you again? If I go that hard against your pleasure spot, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.” Minseok closed his eyes and sighed with how skillfully Jongdae was rubbing the two of them together.

“Then carry me everywhere,” Jongdae tantalizingly whispered in Minseok’s ear. “You’ll just have to take care of me.. Or, you can let me spread you.”

Minseok blinked for a moment.

“I’ve waited far too long for you, just to only have one intimate embrace on our first time. I want more.” Jongdae whispered the last part in such a sultry tone that Minseok was already feeling himself grow stiff again.

Minseok rolled Jongdae back down on the bed and entangled their legs in one another. He kissed Jongdae lazily, smiling like a fool but making sure to never leave Jongdae’s lip alone for too long.

“So, that means you’ve thought of me doing these things to you?” Minseok smirked.

Jongdae froze beneath him. 

“Tell me, oh Auspicious One. What other things have you imagined me doing to you besides filling you whole and making you cry out in pleasure?” Minseok trailed a sneaky hand down to Jongdae’s groin, feeling his half-hard shaft flow with life as he gave it a few strokes. 

Jongdae’s breath hitched again and he let his head sink back into the pillows. Minseok’s hand was too good for Jongdae to keep up with. His legs clenched as Minseok pumped over the head in just the right spots. 

Minseok whispered beside Jongdae’s ear, “Tell me, what do you want?”

“Y-You..” Jongdae panted.

“Where?”

“Anywhere!” Jongdae gasped out as Minseok squeezed his grip on the slick length. “Do anything, just take me so that I’m all yours.. Let me be consumed by you, I want it—” Jongdae wrapped his arms around Minseok’s neck and pulled him so close that their lips nearly touched while he spoke. “As long as it’s you, I’ll take it all.”

“Gladly.” Minseok leaned down and kissed the very breath from Jongdae’s lungs.

There was no sense of time in that room once they had fallen in that second embrace. Time was long since forgotten, responsibilities shirked and messages ignored. Once they were together, no one would be able to interfere. Even as the birds sang their early morning songs did the two not think it was time to take a break. No, it wasn’t until the both of them fell unconscious from pure exhaustion did they finally stop.

But before Minseok could no longer keep his heavy eyelids open, he changed their covers and laid in bed, gazing lovingly at Jongdae’s sleeping form. His own neck and body were sore from all the kissing and lovemaking, so it was difficult to fall asleep right away. He laced their fingers and closed the space between them, close enough to count each lash on Jongdae’s lids.

As his eyes slowly fell closed to the sight of Jongdae, he thought about how nice it would be to wake up to him. With that beautiful skin bruised with love marks and glowing from the countless orgasms.

He could easily love that.

Minseok brought their entwined fingers to his lips and kissed the back of Jongdae’s hand. 

“I promise, you have me for forever.” He whispered before settling his chin on top of Jongdae’s head. 

This was only just the start of their story.

The story of the demon he once thought of Jongdae as and how he would spend the rest of his life cherishing this man. He would never take a moment alone with him for granted again. For every precious second they spent together and would spend together was more important than the countless days they spent fighting and hating one another.

Jongdae had been with him through death. It was only fair that Minseok repay that to Jongdae and be with him through life. Minseok at least owed him that, and moreover, he ached to give it.

It was no easy task for the two of them to reach that point, but he was glad they were finally there. That he no longer had to hide what truly lay in his heart.

He was glad that he could unapologetically love Kim Jongdae for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't even really take credit for the smut, Anna wrote a good chunk that i lightly edited, and she helped it come to life A LOT. so thank you, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank youuuuu
> 
> hahaha, it took a whole 140k+to get to this point, was it worth it? was the slow burn enemies to lovers mdzs au worth it? please, tell me your thoughts, i'd love to see your reactions to the plot, the characters, the world, anything! even if you want to talk about the original mxtx characters I'd love that too <3
> 
> I wanted to make this a fic were the main chracters suffer greatly, much like every xianxia i've ever read has (this is limited to about five) but it ended up being that people around minseok suffered greatly. minseok just happened to get caught up in all of it, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. but i wanted jongdae and lu han to be pathetic characters that you still want to coddle and tell them it'll be all right. it's not your fault. (even tho it really was all jongdae's fault) but i hope you also wish to pet their heads and tell them it'll be okay. :(
> 
> This au started out from a stupid Skyrim plot. I’ve been wanting to make a mxtx based fic and I had no idea of what and then i glanced at the screen while my brother was playing Skyrim and a the quest where a ghost asks you to find her dead body and old bow comes up. From that very two second glance started the inspiration for this au. Someone has died and their spiritual bow went missing. I knew right off the bat I wanted the main character to roam a spirit realm but I don’t think I knew right away that it would be a fake world. At least not right away bc the fake realm came fairly soon after, I’ve known that part since the very beginning. But anyways, the bow was supposed to play a more significant part but, it really didn’t lmao. It had no point other than nuanced symbolism that minseok has a great eye for archery but is more dense than a brick when it comes to observing jongdae or whatever. Otherwise everything else in this fic came almost out of nowhere. I have all this lore on the world, taotie, lu Han and bei xiong, the sects and more. Most of which didn’t make it into the fic. It’s a struggle.
> 
> but most importantly, if you've made it down this far, I want to give you the biggest thank you ever. just you reading to this point means everything to me. I hope you enjoyed this beast of a fic. this fic that almost made me rip my hair out and throw it in the trash. 
> 
> p.s this is unrelated to anything but jongdae in this fic has a massive fucking cock
> 
> minseok's is just average 😒


	26. Extra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little extra I wrote for Anna (XiuChen4Ever)!
> 
> This is a surprise so who knows when/if you'll see it, but I hope you enjoy it ;)
> 
> This chapter and smut aren't nearly as good without anna's editing bUT i managed a little something extra haha

“Young Master, Lord Sungjeong has just arrived in the sect, would you like to greet him at the entrance of the estate, or shall I get his room ready?”

“I’ll greet him at the entrance.” Minseok waved his hand for the servant to leave. “He’ll be staying in my chambers for the evening.”

The servant bowed his head and left without a sound.

Minseok took a deep breath in and placed his brush beside the inkwell. He had been writing a report aimlessly about a Night Hunt he had just gotten back from. To say the least that he was ready for something more invigorating was an understatement. He tidied his hair and fixed his robes to something more presentable before heading out to greet this highly anticipated guest.

There was a slightly skip to Minseok’s step as he walked along the wooden floorboards of the estate. His excitement was enough to cause him to slightly fumble over his feet on his way over.

“I hear someone’s here to visit.” Junmyeon called out from across the way. He was drinking mulled wine in the open pavilion just before dinner was to be served.

“Yes, there is.” Minseok muttered to himself, hastening his step even more.

A light snow sprinkled from the heavens, flittering about like tiny kisses of white jade. The mugunghwa flowers had all but died out, bushes and trees were barren, but a soft layer of fresh snow had graced the landscape.

“You’re late. Kim Jongdae.” Minseok announced as he stood at the entrance of the estate. Across the way was a person dressed in an all-white winter robe.

“I am most certainly, not late.” Jongdae called out.

Minseok smirked and put a hand on the hilt of Gwangseon.

“Do you know what we do to those who are not prompt?” Minseok drew Gwangseon slightly, letting the steel blade glint in the fire light around.

Minseok took off like a flash, baring his blade and attacking without warning.

Two swords met in a stalemate, their eyes direct with one another.

“I would hope you treat them better than this.” Jongdae remarked.

Minseok laughed then sent Jongdae back with a forceful push. Their swords met in a fierce battle. No lack of skill was wasted in this bout, but the onlookers each rolled their eyes and went on with their night. What else was new? Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae were fighting, of course this was regular. Except… wait.. Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae are… together now? Many of the juniors all gaped as they walked by, while the older ones had to do a double take. This was a very confusing time for them.

Minseok went to thrust his sword once more at Jongdae, but he faltered slightly when he noticed how Jongdae wasn’t going to block him in time. Minseok stepped off to the side to redirect his blow and sheathed his sword while Jongdae had just managed to raise his sword to block.

Minseok stared Jongdae down, studying his demeanor closely. With gusto to his step, Minseok walked over to Jongdae and rested a gentle hand against his cheek.

“You look exhausted. Forgive me, I was too excited and didn’t think about how you would be.” Minseok frowned.

Jongdae leaned into the touch, “It’s alright. I know how much you love to spar.” He shut his eyes and took a deep breath in. “I missed you.”

Minseok stepped closer, “I missed you, as well.” He whispered.

Jongdae looked ethereal in the snow. The light flakes that would cling to his hair looked like sugar with his sweet smile. However, a chill ran through Jongdae’s body and he shivered in displeasure. Minseok frowned again then took his winter robe off and slung it around Jongdae’s shoulders.

“Come, we’ll take dinner in my quarters. And then you’ll rest.”

Jongdae stopped dead in his tracks, leaving Minseok quite baffled for a moment.

“I haven’t seen you in a month. I want a kiss.” Jongdae demanded.

Minseok shifted his gaze around, “My love, the juniors don’t need to see us do that out here.”

“A simple kiss. Nothing more.”

Minseok sighed then leaned in and gently kissed Jongdae on the lips. Minseok meant for it to be a quick kiss, like after a long night of making love and they would leave lazy kisses on each other’s faces. But, it had been a month since they had last seen one another. This kiss went on for longer than intended. Minseok relished those perfect lips, inhaling that peony scent and losing himself in everything that was Kim Jongdae.

When they broke apart, Minseok pressed their foreheads together and stroked Jongdae’s cheek lovingly.

“Oh how I missed you.” Jongdae whispered.

“Come, tell me everything that happened.” Minseok smiled as he grabbed Jongdae’s hand and led him to his quarters.

Of course, Junmyeon had a snide remark when they passed by the pavilion.

“Ugh, you’re already headed to your room? Can you please put up a silencing barrier? I’d prefer not to hear you mule like a donkey, Kim Minseok.”

Minseok had no retort for the annoying cretin and went on his way. He would remember that for later. Jongdae, on the other hand, was the one to speak. “Then I would be doing a good job, wouldn’t I?”

Junmyeon went to spit something out in retort before fully processing the words and who it had come from. He froze mid breath and immediately went red as a chili pepper.

Minseok gaped while Jongdae smirked and continued to lead them to the room. Minseok called for dinner to be brough to his room and to make sure that it was something that could be easily digested. He wanted Jongdae to get rest as soon as possible.

A warm bath was drawn for Jongdae before dinner, so Minseok sat on a small stool beside the basin and brushed Jongdae’s hair. The warm air from the heated floors and the fuzzy sensation taking over Jongdae’s head and body made him wane with sleep.

“Kim Jongdae, you have to eat first.” Minseok cooed.

Jongdae muffled a groan, “I want you to come in with me. I want to be in your arms.” He whispered.

“You can lay in my arms all you want tonight, but you must eat first. When was the last time you ate anything?”

Jongdae could not answer him and sat his body upright.

“Well, talking to you will keep me up. But you’ll have to forgive my voice. It’s still not all there yet.”

“It’s already so much better than it was a month ago. You can speak at an almost normal volume now.”

Jongdae seemed to not response in any way to that.

“I missed the sound of your voice, Jongdae.”

Minseok leaned in his stool to see what face Jongdae might be making, but when he turned to keep away from Minseok, Minseok pushed further.

“Jongdae, what’s the matter?”

Jongdae whispered, “If I could, I would never have this voice back.”

Minseok sat back and thought for a second. This wasn’t something he could approach lightly. Minseok pulled the stool up to the basin so that he could easily face Jongdae and continue to brush his hair to the side.

“One of your punishments was to do exorcisms for families of the people you had used your voice to control. Families should be plenty at ease with this deed of yours. I know it’s not much compared to the damage done and to what you feel in your heart, but your earnest endeavors will make a difference to them. I know it will. You deserve your voice back, Kim Jongdae. Don’t forget that.”

Jongdae sat lifeless in the water.

“Jongdae, my love.. Look at me..” Minseok beckoned.

Jongdae reluctantly looked over at him.

“You deserve to be happy, too.”

With a sorrowful smile, Jongdae said, “But I am happy. When I’m with you.”

“Then let me be all you need.”

“…What if my singing voice never comes back? I know how much you loved to hear it. What if I can never sing for you again?”

“Is that seriously what you’re worried about?” Minseok leaned back with an incredulous gape. “Do you think so lowly of me that I would only love you for that? That I only love you for that? Kim Jongdae you’re gravely mistaken if you think that.”

“I know… I just… I needed to hear it from your mouth.” Jongdae slumped against the basin and let his head fall halfway into the water.

“Then I will make sure you know every little thing that I love about you.” Minseok said as he grabbed a pitcher and poured the warm water on top of Jongdae’s head.

Jongdae shot up, mildly choking on the water.

“Kim Minseok!”

“I love the way you say my name.” Minseok started with a tender gaze focused on Jongdae.

Jongdae’s annoyance quickly faded and his cheeks started to burn.

“I love when you become as rosy as the inside of the mugunghwa flower. I love when you smile for me and me only. I love when you say you’re not tired and insist on staying up, only to fall asleep minutes later. I love how stubborn you are and how even though I’m just as stubborn, we can always come to some sort of agreement. I love the way you hold your sword and how you angle it just perfectly so that the sun rays catch its gleam. I love that behind all your robes is glorious amounts of muscle that I envy to have. I love when you kiss me in the morning to wake up me up. I love especially when you clamp down on my peni—”

Jongdae rushed to cover Minseok’s mouth, “Th-That’s enough!”

Minseok smiled into Jongdae’s hand and kissed them.

“I love these hands that have sacrificed so much. Kim Jongdae, I could drone on forever about everything that I love about you. And as much as I love your singing, it pales in comparison to everything else that makes up you.”

Jongdae wanted to hear none of it, so he shoved his head entirely under water and waited for Minseok to stop laughing before peering over the water.

“Hurry up! Dinner just arrived!” Minseok beamed.

They dressed down to their nightly robes and sat around the low table. Minseok had taken his hair down and let it drape over one shoulder while Jongdae’s damp hair fell loosely over both of his. They were two men fairer than any celebrity, enjoying each other’s company.

“There’s something I haven’t quite had the chance to tell you.” Jongdae started. “After my house arrest and a final judgement was made for my punishment, there were some details that I left out from you.”

“This doesn’t sound promising.” Minseok sighed.

“The sect’s banned together and thought it only fair that I try to get back the souls that Taotie had consumed.”

Minseok jolted and his knee hit the table, startling Jongdae in the process. “That’s ridiculous! How could that even be possible?!”

“Well… I have had some help.”

“…Were you successful?”

“Yes and no.”

Minseok waited desperately for Jongdae to continue.

“I came across some spirit attracting flags and a few devices that had come from across the sea. I spent several days and nights performing rituals to call upon the possibly lost or scattered souls that might have left Taotie’s body after he diminished. I spent so much time looking for them, using different methods, searching villages and places Taotie had been to consume souls. I stayed up for days on end. Nothing had worked, except one. The soul still has Taotie’s essence in it, but it’s fixable. If I can find the rest of the soul, that would be one lost soul found.”

Minseok sighed heavily, “Kim Jongdae, how do you expect to find hundreds of souls that had been devoured by a raging demon? Especially by yourself? There’s no way that the first souls Taotie had ever consumed would exist today. A lot of those souls are gone forever. You’re on a wild goose chase.”

“I know this..” Jongdae nodded. “But I must try to save what I can. And..” He paused, as if unsure he should keep going.

“Yes?

“This isn’t something I have to do alone.”

Minseok raise a brow.

“No one said I had to do any of these tasks alone. The exorcisms are one thing, those I was instructed to complete on my own. But they never said I couldn’t have a companion for the rest. Would you join me—”

“—I will join you.” Minseok spoke over Jongdae quickly.

Jongdae was taken aback for a moment.

“I asked you to be my night hunting partner. I’m sorry that I didn’t go with you in the first place.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t apologize. We didn’t know what they would allow. I was the only one summoned.”

“But I should have gone with you. I’ve missed you… so much.” Minseok whispered as he reached across the table to hold Jongdae’s hand.

Jongdae smiled softly. “I’ve missed you too. And I’ll gladly have you along with me. I’ve missed you for this last month too much to deny your company.”

“Then what must we do? How long is this break that you get?”

“My break is only two weeks. I figure I spend some time here, then visit my mother and sister. You can finish up any business here, and we can be on our way.”

“I only have a few things to do here, I won’t be long. So I can join you right away and visit your family.”

“I would enjoy that greatly.” Jongdae smiled then cleared his throat. He had been talking a great deal, so the rasp of his voice was starting to come back. “I would like to find the burial mounds of the various people that were murdered and spend time there looking for any souls. I cannot sing a song of Inquiry to communicate with the spirits in the area, nor can I sing a song of Evocation to summon a spirit from a dead body. If any soul remains of any of these bodies, they won’t be in whole pieces. I was able to find one soul fragment by using Spirit Attraction flags. I laid each body out from a burial mound I came across and placed a flag on them with a demonic talisman. It was not easy… I had to use the surrounding resentful energy of the murdered bodies in order to summon this soul fragment.”

“I see, so you’ll need the help anyways. Preferably someone who’s had a great deal of demonic energy flowing through them before and one who can take it’s consumption.” Minseok nodded.

Jongdae looked away, as if ashamed.

“Don’t be embarrassed, I am here to be of use to you Kim Jongdae. I would love nothing more than to help you. I’m sure the resentful energy of the corpses in those areas is thick and suffocating. I would prefer to be there to help you, anyways. That’s not something anyone should do alone. No matter how terribly they feel their sins are.” Minseok squeezed Jongdae’s hand to comfort him.

“Thank you..” Jongdae whispered.

“Besides, we might run into Lu Han and Zitao. We can ask them for help if we need. Last I heard they were still in the capital’s region, I’m sure we’ll see them at some point.”

Jongdae nodded, he seemed to be comforted by this added thought.

“The corpses in the ground in those types of areas are restless. It was too much for me to handle without my voice, so I would need your help to sooth the resentful energy there. I’m sure it will take a few days to nurture them into something we can work with. We’ll be there for a very long time. Are you sure you want to be stuck doing this with me?”

“I couldn’t think of anything better to do than get stuck exorcising ghosts with you.”

Jongdae looked down and smiled bashfully.

“But,” Minseok started and Jongdae frowned. “We can discuss the details later. Right now, it’s you and me. We haven’t seen one another in a month, I want to focus on you rather than that. Tell me everything.” Minseok leaned in, he was excited to listen to the things Jongdae had to say.

They spoke and drank wine for most of the night, Jongdae told small stories of the last month until late. Minseok had laid down in his lap with closed eyes as Jongdae ran his fingers through Minseok’s hair. They were at peace like that, letting the night drift on outside while they were close and huddled for warmth.

During a lull in their conversation, Jongdae began to hum contentedly. Minseok nearly froze upon the sound but ultimately quieted to listen closely to Jongdae’s alluring voice.

The slow sound of Jongdae’s voice turned into words, words that made Minseok’s chest swell and heart thump loudly against his chest.

_“The sound of your voice calling to me  
I can hear it through the seam of the open door  
Your warm, outstretched arms that send my heart fluttering_

_On this night, even the hanging stars  
Are asleep without a sound  
Shall we bring out our memories?  
Close your eyes_

_The light of the brilliant moon  
Dances its last dance  
Like riding atop a swing  
Even as it drifts away from you_

_To you, beneath the poring moonlight  
Become the star of this night  
And promise to shine for me_

_The light of the brilliant moon  
Dances its last dance  
Like riding atop a swing  
Even as it drifts away from you”_

Minseok stared up at Jongdae, the very breath drawn from his lips.

“I really thought I would never hear a song from you again.”

Minseok sat up right to gaze into Jongdae’s glistening eyes. Jongdae’s cheeks were rosy and seemed just as willing to stare lovingly back at Minseok.

“What is this song?” Minseok asked in a whisper.

“One that I made. It’s unfinished, but it started to come to me while we were together those few months for my house arrest. It drove me crazy, not being able to express it. I had a melody turning round and round in my head that entire time, it feels good to finally get some of it out. It still hurts to sing, but not nearly as much as it did before.”

“You made this song for me?”

Jongdae nodded with a small smile on his lips.

Minseok leaned in and kissed Jongdae passionately. Taking the very breath from Jongdae’s precious lips.

“It is a beautiful song.” Minseok whispered into the kiss.

They did not break from their kiss, instead, Minseok climbed further in Jongdae’s lap and let a hand crawl up Jongdae’s thigh.

“I know you’re tired, so I won’t make you do anything. Just let me do all the work tonight.”

Jongdae moaned into the kiss at Minseok’s words and let him run a hand up and through his loose robes. The white robes slipped from Jongdae’s shoulder like liquid to reveal such fair and untouched skin. Minseok quite missed seeing the red and bruised skin from before, everyday there would be a new bruise in a new spot, but this spotless skin of Jongdae’s had to change.

Minseok kissed delicately at the skin by his neck and Jongdae leaned into it. Each kiss turned heavier and heavier until Minseok sucked a very tender spot just under Jongdae’s ear.

A moan was elicited from Jongdae’s mouth and Minseok nearly came from the sound. His body shot up with gooseflesh and yearned to hear that sultry voice again.

All the times that they had made love, Jongdae had a difficult time properly expressing his moans. Being able to hear them as clear as day took Minseok to a whole new level.

Minseok pressed Jongdae down into the bed, all while kissing that spot heavily. His hand stroked muscle after glorious muscle on Jongdae’s body, feeling them contract under his touch and twitch with pleasure.

“What if I want to do something to you?” Jongdae whispered as Minseok slowly trailed his kisses down Jongdae’s torso.

“Then I guess you’ll have to wait.” Minseok licked around Jongdae’s lower stomach, making sure to fondle each crevice on the way down. Jongdae couldn’t help but giggle with the sensations. “Because tonight,” He pulled Jongdae’s loose robes apart and undid the belt sash and pulled his pants down ever so slightly. “Is all about you, my love.”

Jongdae’s hips protruded as Minseok pulled the pants before just revealing the growing girth below. Minseok delved into that soft and supple skin, kissing from the start of one hip bone, to the other. Jongdae’s stomach contracted beautifully under his touch. His diaphragm rose rapidly as he tried to muddle his expectant pants. Jongdae was getting excited with just the thoughts of what Minseok might do to him, finally being touched after so long made him shiver in pleasure.

Minseok tossed an alluring gaze at Jongdae, taking in Jongdae’s frazzled state. His rosy cheeks and raven hair splayed against the white pillow was all the more enticing. Jongdae had an arm covering his mouth, as if to bite back the moans that wanted to escape. Minseok wanted to pull that arm away and make sure he could never hide that face or mouth again.

“Tell me, where do you want me to touch you?”

Jongdae whimpered with such an embarrassing question. He looked down at Minseok and his voice hiccupped. Minseok’s eyes were so sultry from that angle, like he would eat Jongdae up at any moment.

“What would you like me to do, my love?” Minseok hovered his mouth lower, right over the tent of Jongdae’s pants, letting his hot breath brush over the think fabric.

Jongdae sighed with pleasure and desperately wished for more.

“Your mouth.. I want your mouth.” Jongdae panted.

“Where?”

“Down there, underneath my pants.. please.” Jongdae whined.

Minseok smiled, satisfied with his answer. “Your wish, is my command.”

Minseok pulled the pants down all the way and Jongdae’s length sprung out. He was nearly rock hard with just those kisses and light bedroom talk. Minseok was getting more and more excited because of it.

Minseok kissed the area around Jongdae’s length, leading all the way down to his inner thighs and sucking on the soft skin there. Jongdae let out soft mewls of pleasure while Minseok decorated his thighs with flowering red marks. But he could tell Jongdae was getting impatient, so he left those glorious thighs to suck on a testicle.

Unprepared for the sudden sensation, Jongdae threw his head back with a moan. Minseok liked the sound of that, so he made sure to suck a little harder before going to the other one.

“Oh.. Oh, my Minseok.. My dear..” Jongdae’s voice melted with just that part being fondled. The moment Minseok slid his lips down his head and to the shaft he nearly lost all ability to even form words.

Minseok’s hollowed cheeks and his firm lips bobbed up and down on Jongdae’s length, using a hand to stimulate the parts he couldn’t reach. Jongdae was a rather… large fellow.

Jongdae’s back arched with the sensation, crying out muffled moans of pleasure every time Minseok played and hummed moans of pleasure around the head of his member. It took every ounce of strength in him not to thrust, but the way Minseok was sucking him was a magical experience that he had not experienced in quite a while.

Jongdae felt himself nearly ready to burst when Minseok stopped midway. Panting, and delirious with lust, Jongdae looked down to find Minseok staring hungrily at his member.

“M-Minseok? My dear?”

Minseok did not respond for a while before gazing up at him.

“You haven’t released yet. Either I’m bad at this or you have more self-control than I do. I’ve already released from just listening to your moans.”

Jongdae flinched and sat up right, holding down his length to keep it from spurting out. Those words sent his mind for a good spin, but that was the last thing he wanted. To release at the idea of Kim Minseok releasing over his moans.

“How much longer can you take? I want to ride you.” Minseok asked with glossed eyes. He seemed so frustrated and filled with lust that Jongdae couldn’t resist.

“Please, anything, give me anything.”

Minseok was quick to take his pants off, straddle Jongdae and reach for the small table beside the bed. He grabbed a small bottle of mugunghwa scented oil and coated his hand with a hefty helping of it. The excess that dripped off fell onto Jongdae’s groin. Minseok leaned over and began to insert a finger into his own rear.

“Wh-What are you—?” Jongdae felt so embarrassed that Minseok was doing this right in front of him. They had always done it for the other, but here was Minseok, gladly fingering himself while making direct eye contact with Jongdae.

Minseok winced with the uncomfortable position, “This isn’t the most ideal way to do this.”

“Stop, I’ll do it for you—”

“No, I said I would do everything tonight.”

“But—!”

Minseok paused for a moment to lean down and kiss Jongdae on the lips.

“That’s enough of that, for now. I’ll gladly do this for you.” Minseok smiled before continuing the stretch himself.

Once he felt ready, he lowered his hips and took hold of Jongdae’s length and carefully led it inside. He slowly slid down until he was seated on Jongdae’s lap, it was a feat and uncomfortable for Minseok but with the way Jongdae’s head rolled back and a moan left his lips, it made the whole situation worth it.

“Oh Kim Minseok, that feels amazing.” Jongdae moaned as the entirety of Minseok’s warmth enveloped him.

With a pained smile Minseok responded, “Good, I just need a moment to adjust before I keep going.”

“Hurry..”

“Maybe we should have waited for tomorrow.” Minseok chuckled as he went to pour more oil between their connection. He raised his hips slightly and lathered Jongdae’s length before lowering back down again.

The pace was slow, painfully slow for Jongdae, but Minseok needed it if he wanted this to feel good for him too. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Minseok was riding Jongdae at a decent pace.

Minseok raised his hips and clenched down with each plunge. Jongdae had seated himself upright to grab hold of Minseok and buried his face into Minseok’s shoulder, panting heavily there. It took even more of his strength not to push Minseok down and thrust into the tight spot, but Minseok was doing a pretty decent job by himself.

“Faster..” Jongdae moaned and nearly clawed at Minseok’s back as he clenched his hands.

Minseok, starting to work up a sweat, quickened his pace, using his legs and thighs to satisfy the man in his arms.

Jongdae leaned down and kissed away at Minseok’s chest, biting and sucking on the more tender parts. As he did so, the position had to change slightly so that Minseok could keep riding him. That change began to hit a certain spot inside of Minseok over and over. The more it was hit the faster he felt himself go. Up and down, slamming down on the salaciously large length of Kim Jongdae.

“I’m almost there, faster!” Jongdae groaned into Minseok’s chest.

Minseok sat down furiously with these last few thrusts. They were hard and fast, but they were what did the trick.

“I’m going to—!” Jongdae sputtered just before holding down tight on Minseok and released inside of him.

Minseok slowed his hips to ride out Jongdae’s orgasm, but those last few slow rolls of his hips were enough to bring him over the edge. His own member released against Jongdae’s abdomen and fell onto the bits of loose robes between the two of them.

Minseok wasn’t in a hurry to get off, instead, the two of them fell limp in each other’s embrace and stayed there to catch their breath.

“I’ve missed you, so much. My dear.” Jongdae whispered as he raised his head to meet Minseok.

“And I missed you, my love.” Minseok gazed deeply into Jongdae’s eyes before letting their lips meet in a delicate embrace.

They spent the rest of that night in each other’s embrace, close and never leaving each other’s side for very long. They went on through the night, talking with one another without a care for the world. It could have been close to morning for all they knew. Jongdae had Minseok wrapped securely in his arms, twirling the soft strands of Minseok’s lustrous and thick hair.

“Kyungsoo does this weird thing now, where he talks more. Your friend’s, Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun visit often and for some reason Do Kyungsoo has.. emotions.”

The hand in Minseok’s hair had slowly stopped moving in the midst of Minseok talking. Minseok looked up and watched as Jongdae’s head lolled to the side with sleep. He smiled at this and helped put Jongdae to bed. He turned down the lights and slipped under the covers with the sleeping man. It was a good while before Minseok finally fell asleep. He laid there, watching as Jongdae breathed deeply with ease. His chest swelled with each thought, how Jongdae was finally back and they were finally together again. He had been waiting so patiently all this time, and now they were finally together.

Minseok, in a sleepy stupor, leaned into Jongdae’s chest and hugged him tight. He fell asleep like that, cushioned comfortably against Jongdae.

When he woke up the next morning Jongdae’s arms were wrapped around Minseok’s shoulder’s, while Minseok was still huddled into Jongdae’s chest and his arms wrapped securely around Jongdae’s waist.

The late morning sun peaked through the windows and brought a hazy light into the room. It was still, thankfully, warm in the room, but being so close to Jongdae in his morning daze felt surreal, almost like he was lost in a dream. Since this was a good dream, he nuzzled further into Jongdae’s chest and refused to let the morning wake him.

A hum began to softly emit from Jongdae’s chest, vibrating Minseok’s ear gently. It was to the tune of the song from last night. Minseok felt the tingle of happiness shiver around his body and he smiled.

“I do enjoy this song.” Minseok nuzzled further into Jongdae’s chest.

Jongdae chuckled and stroked back the few strands of hair on Minseok’s forehead.

“I had a thought. Next year, hopefully when my voice is better, I’d like to do another opera.” Jongdae’s morning voice was more raspy than usual because of the events of the night prior.

“I thought you didn’t want to sing anymore?” Minseok raised his head so that his chin was propped on his hands on top of Jongdae’s chest.

“I’ve thought of it to be my last one ever. A farewell to my fans and…” Jongdae trailed off.

“What?”

“…I want the world to know how I feel for you.”

A smile grew from ear to ear on Minseok’s face, so he reached up and kissed Jongdae on the lips.

“I don’t want to invalidate the way you feel, but I just want you to know that it’s okay if the world doesn’t know how you feel. So long as we know how we feel to one another, I think that is what’s most important.” Minseok hovered just above Jongdae’s face and the two of them giggled lovingly at one another. “But I will support you if that is what you wish. So long as you don’t feel pressured that you _have_ to do it.”

Minseok nuzzled their noses and they whispered sweet nothings to one another. They relished that morning intimacy of near nakedness and joy, pecking each other’s lips and leaving soft kisses all over.

“Young Master Kim Minseok still hasn’t woken up, I don’t think Young Master Junmyeon should—”

 _“Kim Minseok!”_ The boisterous sound of Junmyeon’s voice carried over from the other side of the door. The two in the room could hear Junmyeon’s feet clunking down the wooden walkway. “It’s nearly noon and the two of you dare to be in bed all day?! We have guests! Get out of bed and—!”

The doors flung open to Minseok’s room and Junmyeon froze upon seeing two half naked men in each other’s embrace. Specifically, Minseok on top of Jongdae, under the sheets with both their cheeks rosy.

Junmyeon’s body went red after a solid minute of processing what he was seeing. He whipped out his fan and held it up to shield away their unsightly position.

“Don’t just stand there, get out!” Minseok yelled.

“I’ve sent maids all morning, but they were too afraid to get your attention! We have guests, Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun of Jinju Peony have arrived and they have requested your audience urgently. I knew the two of you would be… indisposed, but I can only hold their attention for so long until they want to see Young Master Kim Jongdae here. Now if you wouldn’t mind, _getting it up!_ And greet them!”

Minseok rolled his eyes.

“Fine! We’ll be there shortly. Give us.. An hour.” He smirked and leaned back down to kiss Jongdae’s face again.

“An hour!?” Junmyeon shouted.

“Yes, I’ve been deprived of my lover for a month, I need time to get my fill.” Minseok spat at Junmyeon. “Now, get out, before I make you watch.”

“No thank you!” Junmyeon slammed the door behind and cursed the entire way down the hall.

“Do you really want to make them wait an hour?” Jongdae asked with a playful smile on his face.

“Why? You want to make them wait longer?” Minseok smirked into Jongdae’s neck and he began to kiss there tenderly.

“No! I just figured we would have more time to ourselves tonight…”

“But I’m in the mood now.” Minseok pouted.

Jongdae sighed a with complacency, “I can’t refute that either. Alright. We’ll have to be quick.”

“What’s the rush? An hour’s plenty of time.” Minseok bit Jongdae’s bottom lip and it earned a giggle.

They made full use of that hour, loving one another nonstop. The world outside that room was completely forgotten when it was just the two of them.

Unfortunately, Junmyeon had to go through great lengths to keep Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun away from Minseok’s room for the extra hour. But thankfully, Do Kyungsoo and Bae Seulgi were there to help lessen the load.

If it were up to Minseok, he would have stayed in bed with Jongdae all day. Doing one another until the next morning sun. But they had business to attend. There would be another day for them to do that. For now, they did what they could, and made sure to love each other with each passing moment that they had.

They spent too much time in their youth fighting one another, it was important that they treat each other with all the care and love they deserved. Because they were so helplessly in love with one another and because they refused to let anyone take that away from them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you squint you can see the zombie gardener's a lil bit, and also i just love the idea of minseok riding jongdae in this au
> 
> And the new song is my dear from dear my dear album :))
> 
> I hope you liked it <3


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